


Hell Week

by bjfic_archivist



Category: Queer as Folk (US)
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Unsafe Sex, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-10-29
Updated: 2006-12-30
Packaged: 2018-12-27 09:26:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 39,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12078279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bjfic_archivist/pseuds/bjfic_archivist
Summary: Is this going to be a week to remember or one to forget?  Come join Brian, Justin and Gus in the suburbs of Canada.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Note from IrishCaelan, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [The Brian/Justin Fanfiction Archive](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Brian_Justin_Fanfiction_Archive). To preserve the archive, I began importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in September 2017. I posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [The Brian/Justin Fanfiction Archive collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/bjfic/profile).

  
Author's notes:

Thank you to my wonderful beta, Shellie, who is always there for me, to help with my writing skills and who nevers stops amazing me with hers!

* * *

Hell Week, Chapter 1 

Britin Manor-August 2014. 

It was a beautiful, warm summer night.  The trees surrounding the terrace at Britin Manor were filled with tiny, white, Chinese paper lanterns, hung strategically throughout the many layers of leafy branches. They swayed in the gentle breeze, creating an illusion of bobbing fireflies.  The tables were all decorated in the finest white linen with two foot high crystal vases as centerpieces.  They were overflowing with Gerber daisies in different shades of pink, interspersed with green fronds and Baby’s Breath.  There were nine tables in all, each seating ten people.  The wedding party sat at the center table on a dais that was slightly raised.  The other tables were on either side of it in a semi-circle around the dance floor.   

Molly Taylor sat at the head table, dressed in her ivory, Carolina Herrera wedding gown.  It was a simple silk sheath, with spaghetti straps and a heavily embroidered over dress that flowed outward from the waist to the long train that ended about four feet behind her.  Her rich, mahogany hair was pulled back by the jeweled combs that Justin had given her at the wedding rehearsal dinner, accentuating her incredibly high cheek bones, her large blue eyes and her porcelain skin, with its smattering of freckles across her nose.  She was glowing this evening as she raised her glass to toast the man she had just married.  Vicente Garcia, lovingly called Vince by everyone who knew him, was an engineer that she had met three summers ago while she was studying in Madrid, Spain, on an exchange program between the University of Madrid and Boston University.  She had been introduced to him by her roommate Anna, and they had been inseparable ever since. 

Today was the culmination of many months of endless planning between Justin, Jennifer and Molly Taylor, with a lot of help from Emmett Honeycutt, Pittsburgh’s pre-eminent party planner.  The Taylors wanted to make sure that this wedding would be as beautiful and perfect as Molly had always dreamt it would be. 

Justin sat to Molly’s left and Jennifer to Vince’s right.  Beside Jennifer was Tucker, her partner and lover of many years.  Despite their rather large age gap and Justin’s initial trepidations, they remained very much in love.  Brian sat to Justin’s left.  They both wore Armani tuxedos, Justin’s in Dove gray and Brian’s in black.  Their cummerbunds and ties matched the color scheme of the evening, as per Molly’s wishes and were in deep shades of pink, as close to the color of the daisies as possible.  The last four seats at their table were taken up by Vince’s parents, Miguel and Angela Garcia and his two younger brothers, Ramon and Alejandro.   

Justin looked around and saw many friends that the family had known for years, as well as a few of his and Brian’s business associates and clients that were close enough to be invited to join in the celebration. 

Lindsay and Melanie had flown in from Toronto several days ago, along with Gus and Jenny.  They sat at the table with Michael and Ben, Carl and Debbie, and Ted and Blake.  Cynthia, Brian’s assistant, and her current boyfriend occupied the table next to them with a few employees of Kinnetik as well as Molly’s two bridesmaids and their respective dates.  Emmett flitted around from table to table making sure everything was perfect, and it was. 

The champagne flowed non-stop and the food was varied and plentiful.  As the final toasts ended, the band started to play again and everyone watched as the bride and groom took to the dance floor.  They were playing their favorite song, a Spanish ballad called Reloj, which they had heard on one of their first dates.  Fortunately, the band that was hired knew the tune and could do justice to it.  After a few minutes into the song, many couples took to the floor to join the bride and groom.  Jennifer pulled a reluctant Justin and made him take her out for a few spins.   They cut in on Molly and Vince and after a few rounds they switched partners again.  Vince’s parents were having a grand old time moving around the dance floor and enjoying the evening.  They had no daughters of their own and were extremely pleased by Vince’s choice.  It was easy to see why their son had fallen madly in love with the beautiful American girl.  She was quiet and elegant and had a wonderful way of making everyone feel at home. 

“It’s too bad your father couldn’t make it out here to give his daughter away,” Jennifer said.   Justin looked at her, rolled his eyes and said, “Right.  This is his choice mother, it always has been.” 

“Justin,” Jennifer said in a disapproving tone.  “Don’t be flip.  You know he’ll send her a very generous check.” 

“Mother, it’s not always about the money, you know,” Justin replied in his most prissy voice.  “Even though he seems to think it is.” 

“I know sweetheart, he just doesn’t know any other way.” 

“Whatever.  Anyway, I really don’t want to be talking about him right now.  Doesn’t Mollusk look gorgeous tonight?  I’ve never seen her so beautiful,” Justin said looking over at his sister. 

“I know,” Jennifer smiled wistfully.  Her little girl had grown into a beautiful and interesting young woman.

After the honeymoon in Puerto Vallarta, the couple would be moving back to Madrid, where they would live permanently.  Jennifer wondered when they would see each other again.  On the other hand, she couldn’t have wished for a kinder, more decent man than Vince and she hoped that they were going to be very happy.   

Both her children were in good relationships, something a mother always hopes for but doesn’t always live to see.  She wondered again how it was possible that two people as ordinary as Craig and her could produce such extraordinary children.  Both were talented and artistic, both successful in their chosen fields.  Justin continued his meteoric climb in the art world and Molly was slowly making a name for herself in her chosen field of jewelry design. 

Jennifer felt a tap on her shoulder.  She turned to her left and saw her other ‘son-in-law’, Brian, with his beautiful shit-eating grin asking to cut in.   

“Of course, sweetheart, he’s all yours,” she said looking up at Brian fondly.  This beautiful man, who she had once considered the devil incarnate fourteen years ago, had turned out to be someone she had grown to love and respect.  Through the years, as he and Justin struggled with their tempestuous relationship, Brian remained steadfast.  She considered him much more than a partner to her son.  He was her friend, her advisor and a much loved and respected part of her family. 

“I need to borrow Justin for a little bit Jennifer, we have some things we need to check out,” he said as he pushed Justin gently towards the entrance of the house, his right hand resting lightly on Justin’s back. 

“Where are we going?” Justin asked as they entered the house through the terrace doors. 

“I’ve got to show you something,” Brian replied. Pulling Justin by the hand, Brian lead him upstairs, to his home office, opened the door, and after they entered the room he turned and locked it.   

He pushed Justin up against the door and immediately put his mouth on him, tasting every corner of it, savoring the traces of champagne.   After several minutes of mind blowing kisses, Justin’s body immediately reacted to Brian and he could feel his cock straining tightly against his pants as he pressed closer to him.   

“Jesus, Brian,” Justin moaned.  “I feel like I’m in the movie, ‘The Godfather’ when Sonny Corleone fucked the bridesmaid up against their bedroom door.” 

“Fuck, ‘The Godfather’,” Brian groaned back.  “I’ve wanted to get you in the house and do this for the last two hours.  I couldn’t stand it for one more minute.”  Brian sighed as he felt Justin’s erection pushing against him.   

“These last forty-eight hours have been hell with you and your mother queening over every detail of this wedding.  Seeing you out there on the dance floor, with your fucking hair shinning in the moonlight and you ass in these unbelievably hot pants, has been making me hard all night.  You’ve got to get me off before I explode,” he groaned into Justin’s ear.  

Smiling seductively, Justin slowly started taking his clothes off.  First, he removed his coat, and then, he slowly peeled off his pants.  The shirt soon followed as Brian started pulling at his own clothes, urgently and unceremoniously, leaving everything where they dropped, unmindful that they lay creased on the floor. 

Finally, they stood naked in front of each other, all evidence of their arousal clearly visible.  Brian tried to prolong the moment by not touching Justin and just staring at him intensely.  Their eyes locked in on one another as their bodies slowly moved forward, drawn together like magnets that could not break their hold. Justin gasped as Brian started kissing his neck, his fingers splayed on Justin’s chest, drawing little circles around his nipples.  Justin put his hands on Brian’s ass, pulling him closer, feeling their cocks touch and caress.

“Brian,” he moaned.   

“Let’s go slow, Sunshine.  I want to savor this.  God only knows when I’ll get you alone again.” 

“Fuck me,” Justin begged as he felt Brian’s fingers playing with his nipples.  Brian’s hands changed direction and slowly moved down towards Justin’s ass, kneading and rubbing along the way. 

“Brian, now,” Justin begged.  His cock was so hard it hurt.  He pulled Brian down to the floor with him, pulling him on top, his legs rising automatically to Brian’s shoulders, displaying his perfect ass, waiting to be taken.  Waiting, as Brian continued to strum and stoke him like he would an expensive guitar.  Alternately gentle and then rough and then gentle again, the way Justin liked it.  All the while their mouths were united, kissing, tasting, licking; drowning in each other, never getting enough.   

Brian grabbed the condom that he had taken out of his pocket earlier and rolled it on to himself, getting ready.  Finally positioned, he sank into Justin and they both sighed.  For a minute neither one moved, trying to drag this out as long as possible, knowing that the next move would quickly lead to the inevitable explosion.  “Kiss me,” Brian whispered, moving his mouth towards Justin’s now very swollen lips.  As Justin did so, he felt Brian start to move, slowly at first but quickening as Justin pulled himself closer and closer.  “Sunshine, come quick, before I explode,” Brian asked.  He felt himself losing control as Justin pulled him even closer.  Brian picked up the pace, trying to find the right spot that always made Justin scream.  Justin moved his head, trying to catch his breath as Brian’s mouth continued to plunder relentlessly.   As the pace accelerated, Justin let out a huge groan as Brian’s cock hit that sweet spot that always made him crazy and made them come at the same time.     

They continued to lie on the floor, oblivious to the hard wood pressing against them.  “Fuck, that was incredible,” Brian huffed, trying to catch his breath.  Justin lay with his eyes closed, struggling to catch his breath as well.  “Love you,” Justin whispered in his gravely, after-sex voice.  “Me too, Sunshine,” Brian said, as he ran his hands through Justin’s now very wet hair.   

He continued to lie on Justin, too lethargic and spent to move.  He looked like a big cat, draped on a sofa arm, much too content to budge.  The silence in the room was broken by the shrill ringing of Brian’s private, emergency line.  It was a number that was known only to immediate family.  

“What the fuck,” Brian said as he dragged himself up and away from Justin.  Grabbing the phone, he barked, “Kinney,” into the receiver.   

“Brian, it’s Ron Peterson, Lindsay’s dad.” 

“Hey, Ron, is anything wrong?”   

“I’m sorry to bother you Brian but I didn’t know how else to get in touch with Lindsay.  I’m at the hospital.  Nancy’s had a heart attack.”

Tbc  


	2. Chapter 2

Hell Week,  Chapter 2

The ride to the hospital was somber and uncomfortable.  Lindsay, Melanie and Brian sat side by side in the Limo, barely speaking.  They had left the reception without telling anyone, except for the immediate family.  The party was still in full swing and they all agreed to keep everything under wraps so that Molly’s evening wouldn’t be spoiled.  Justin stayed with Jennifer to make sure everything continued smoothly. 

Lindsay sat white faced while Melanie held her hand and looked out the window.  Brian talked quietly into his cell, giving Justin an update as they approached the hospital entrance.  When they got to the emergency room they were directed to the surgical floor.  In the waiting room, Ron Peterson sat with Lynette, Lindsay’s sister. 

Lynette looked up as Lindsay walked in and tears started rolling down her cheeks. “Linds,” she said standing up and embracing her, “I’m so glad you’re here.” 

“What happened?” Lindsay asked looking at her father. 

“Ron shook his head and answered slowly, “We were having dinner, when all of a sudden your mother complained of a pressure on her chest.  Since this was the same feeling she had the last time, we decided not to take any chances and so I drove her to the hospital.” 

“What last time?” Lindsay asked. 

“Honey, she didn’t want to worry you, but this happened once six months ago.” 

“Dad,” Lindsay whined.  “That wasn’t fair.  I had a right to know.” 

“I know, Lindsay, but your mother chose not to inform you because she said everything turned out fine.”  

As he talked, he rubbed his right hand over his face.  Under the harsh hospital lights he looked every bit of his sixty-eight years. 

“Well, it didn’t turn out fine, obviously,” Lindsay said.  “So what happened the last time?” 

“It was the same thing as this evening.  She felt pressure on her chest and she was having trouble breathing.  It never occurred to either of us that she could have a heart problem.  Your mother has always taken such good care of herself; eating right and exercising every day.  Her internist always called her the ‘poster adult’ for healthy senior citizens.” 

“I know,” Lindsay said softly, “She didn’t have one once of fat on her.  So, then what happened?” 

“Well, they did an Angiogram.  It turned out that she had two arteries that were almost completely blocked, which really surprised everyone.  The doctors ended up doing an Angioplasty and after twenty four hours, they sent us home.” 

“What’s an Angioplasty?” Lindsay asked. 

“It’s a procedure where they put a stent in the blocked artery to open it up and prevent it from blocking again.” 

“A stent?” Melanie asked. 

“It’s a little spring that they push into the arteries to keep them open.  Normally, the results are very good and long term.  However, in Nancy’s case, it apparently failed and so this is why she had the pain again.  The doctor said it was a good thing we got here as soon as we did or she could have had a heart attack at home and died.” 

“Oh my God,” Lindsay exclaimed, “now what are they going to do?”   

“Heart by-pass surgery.  It’s a delicate and complicated procedure but the results are usually worth it.  Basically, the doctors stop the heart and put it on a by-pass machine.  Then they substitute the bad arteries with good ones that are taken from other parts of the body.  Once that’s done, everything is reconnected and hopefully the heart will start working on its own, with new and improved arteries.” 

Lindsay looked absolutely stricken as she listened to her father’s explanation. “It sounds very dangerous,” she said. 

“It’s not simple,” Ron said quietly, “but they do it all the time, with excellent results.” 

“How long is the procedure, Ron?” Brian asked. 

“About eight hours.  The doctor comes out every so often to give an update on the progress.   

“Dad,” Lindsay asked, “Have you and Lynette had anything to eat?  

“Linds, I’m not hungry,” Lynette said.  “I’d rather just sit here and wait.  What if the doctor comes out while we’re in the cafeteria?” 

“If he does, I’ll come get you.  It’s only one floor down,” Lindsay replied.  

Lynette turned to her father, “Dad?  Are you hungry?"

“Not so much hungry, as I’m worn out.  I think I’d better have a bite of something to get some energy back.  I could certainly use some coffee.”   

“Alright then,” Lynette said reluctantly.  “But you guys better come and get us if anything happens, okay?” 

“Promise,” Lindsay said.  

Sitting and waiting was more difficult than Brian thought.  The last time he had sat in this surgical waiting room, dressed in a tuxedo, was a memory he rarely ever brought to the surface.  It was one of the worst nights of his life; a memory he had filed away in his mental drawer and never let out.  

It was ironic that the color scheme of his outfit tonight was almost identical to what he was wearing way back then, thirteen years ago on the night Justin had been bashed.  

He decided to step outside on the balcony and have a cigarette. Leaning over the railing, looking out over the city, his thoughts moved back in time to the night he stood in this same spot, not knowing if Justin would make it through surgery or not.  The fear that gripped him then was so powerful that he could still recall the horrors going through his head at the time.  The uncertainty of the outcome, the guilt, the pain; memories that remained branded into his brain, rising unbidden whenever he was near any medical facility. 

He felt the phone vibrating against his chest, pulling him back to the present.   It was Justin.   “Hey.” 

“Brian, how is she?” 

“She’s still in surgery.  It’s going to be a while, according to the doctors,” Brian replied sounding tired. 

“Are you okay,” Justin asked, concerned over Brian’s tone of voice.  “I was just about to leave to come join you.” 

“I’m fine,” Brian answered, “Just tired.  It’s been a long day and it looks like it’s going to be a longer night.  Hey, can you do me a favor?” 

“Sure.  What?”

“Don’t wear your tux when you come, okay?  And bring me another shirt, so I can change when you get here.” 

There was a pregnant pause, and then Justin answered softly.  “I won’t Brian, I’ve already changed into my jeans, and I’ve got a black T-shirt on.” 

“Thanks,” Brian said quietly into the phone.  “I’ll see you in a bit.  We’re on the third floor.” 

“I figured,” Justin answered.  “Later.”  

Approximately eight hours after the surgery had started, the doctor came out to the waiting room and announced that the procedure was over and that Nancy Peterson had made it.  She would be in intensive care at least forty-eight more hours.  Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.  Brian asked Mel and Linds to go with him and Justin for some breakfast while Lynette stayed with her father, who opted to sit by Nancy’s bedside for a little longer. 

They decided not to go to the diner but picked another breakfast place near the hospital.  Well into her third cup of coffee, Lindsay pushed her food around her plate and announced to Melanie, “We can’t leave tonight.” 

“I know,” Melanie said.  “I was thinking about that the whole time we were in the waiting room.” 

Brian looked at them both and said, “So stay.  You guys have rooms at the house, so do the kids.  Stay as long as you need to.” 

“It’s not that simple, Brian,” Lindsay said.  “Tomorrow is the start of Hell Week.” 

Justin and Brian both said at the same time, “Hell week?” 

Melanie explained.  “Football Camp.  Tomorrow is the first day of the camp.  This week is called Hell Week because the coaches make the kids practice every day for two hours, from five in the afternoon to seven in the evening.  They put them through a series of drills to see if any of them have the potential to make the freshman team.  At the end of the week, the decisions are made.  The coaches then call the kids on Friday night and let them know whether they made the cut or not.  That caps off the anxiety and hard work that they’ve had to endure all week long.  Not knowing what the phone call will bring.  It’s absolutely barbaric.”  

“Fuck,” Justin said concerned.  “Won’t they give Gus any consideration?  After all, his grandmother almost died!” 

“I’m afraid not,” Melanie said, “There are over a hundred kids trying out for thirty-five spots.  One kid more or less isn’t going to make a difference.”  She leaned back in her chair and said, “Gus has to be there, or they won’t consider him.” 

Lindsay looked at Brian.  “We promised him Brian.  You know I didn’t let him join Pee Wee football because I felt it was too dangerous for a young boy, but the promise was made that we would allow him to try out for high school football, remember?” 

“Yeah,” Brian answered.  “I remember some bullshit about everyone worrying that he might get hurt if he played football.  What I don’t get is why you let him play ice hockey instead.  It’s just as dangerous, only on skates.” 

“I guess the reason we did it was to placate him,” Mel said.  “Several of his friends had signed up for football and we felt really bad about saying no, so we let him play hockey.   We didn’t realize it was such a rough sport till we saw the first game.” 

“Yeah, I bet that was an eye opener,” Brian said.  “How many teeth did you see flying out that day?”

“Look, Brian, we had no clue.  Neither one of us had ever been around hockey so we knew nothing about it.  Fortunately, he never got hurt.” 

“You guys were lucky,” Brian answered looking at Melanie. 

“So, is he determined to do this?” Justin asked Lindsay.  “I thought he had put football out of his mind?” 

Lindsay said, “He is.  It seems he’s never put it out of his mind; he was just waiting, so that we could keep our promise.  American football is more interesting to him than soccer.  He can watch it for hours and only sits through soccer when his friends insist.  I’m not sure what the attraction is but it’s definitely there.  I guess it has to do with being part of the USA.  Soccer is more a European thing whereas tackle football is all American.” 

“Jesus,” Brian said, “How did we end up with such a straight kid?”   

“Shut up Brian,” Lindsay, Melanie and Justin chanted in unison. 

“Okay guys,” Justin announced.  “It’s really simple.  Brian and I will go back to Toronto tonight with Gus.  We’ll stay with him until you feel you can leave your mother and go back home, right Brian?” 

Surprised by this decision, Brian raised his eyebrows and looked at Justin. “I don’t know, Sunshine,” he answered slowly.  “You and I trying to help Gus out is a nice thought, but we don’t know the first thing about this camp or anything else associated with ‘Hell Week’.” 

“He’s right, Justin,” Lindsay piped up.  “I appreciate the offer but I don’t think it would work.”

“Wait a minute,” Melanie interjected.  “I think it’s a good idea.  We can go over the schedule with both of you; I have it my briefcase at your house.  Everything else is pretty straight forward.  The question is can you get away for at least a week?” 

“I suppose if I moved some meetings around, I could. But I’m still not so sure this is a good idea.” 

“Brian,” Justin said, “It’ll be fine.  We just need to make sure he has everything he needs to get through this week and basically just be there to supervise.  How hard can that be?” 

“Justin, we know nothing about life in the suburbs and being ‘soccer moms’.  I don’t even know where his fucking school is.” 

“Jesus Christ, Brian,” Melanie said.  “We’re not asking you to buy a house and move there.” 

“Melanie, please,” Lindsay said.  “Justin, do you really think you’re up for this?  I know it would mean so much to Gus, but it’s going to be different from anything you’ve known.  Life in suburbia is definitely not exciting.” 

“Who’s needs excitement,” Justin said.  “After the last few months I’ve had, with all the wedding preparations, I could use some down time.  What do you say, Brian, shall we do it?” 

“I guess,” Brian said.  “But, let it go on record that I think this is a mistake.  Justin, you and me in Breeder Central is going to be interesting, to say the least.” 

“Oh, lighten up, Brian.  It’ll be fine,” Justin said, giving him his famous smile.   

“Okay then,” Brian said as he caught the waiter’s eye and signed a check mark in the air.  “It’s settled.  Justin and I will leave tonight with Gus.  You two stay at Britin with Jenny, as long as you need to, and when you’re ready to come back home, you’ll let us know.” 

“Thank you guys,” Lindsay said, giving both Brian and Justin a hug as they headed out towards the car. “Gus will be so excited.  Not only does he get to go to football camp, he’ll have his two 'Dads’ with him to watch him do this.” 

Brian and Justin looked at each other…              

Authors Note:  The medical procedure described above is the current treatment of choice for blocked arteries.  In the year 2014, there will probably be something better and more reliable, but for now, I will have to go with the above.      


	3. Chapter 3

Hell Week, Chapter 3

Gus stood in the security line, listening to his music, headphones firmly attached, noise blasting away; not a thing his father or anyone else was saying came through the din. 

Brian yanked the head set off Gus and said, “You need to pay attention to what the officer is saying.  You can listen to your music as soon as we get on the plane.” 

“Hey!  That was a good song I was listening to, Dad.  Besides, he’s just going to ask me the usual stuff. I already know all the answers.” 

“Well answer the questions anyway, or we’ll never get out of this line,” Brian said.  

“Come on, Gus,” Justin said, “you know they’re just doing their job.”     

“I know, ‘DJ’, it’s just annoying.” 

Justin smiled, always amused when Gus called him ‘DJ’.  The evolution of Justin’s name had been going on for years and it seemed that finally Gus had decided on ‘DJ’.  At first, when Gus was a toddler, he had called him Justin, because he was just his dad’s ‘friend’.  That later changed to ‘Uncle Justin’, as Gus got older and knew that somehow he was more than a friend and more like family.  When Justin came back from New York and he and Brian lived together permanently it slowly evolved to ‘Daddy Justin’, because Lindsay had started calling him that and the boy followed suit.  From there it went to ‘Daddy J’ or ‘DJ’, depending on the mood, and some days it was simply, ‘D’.   

Brian had only insisted that Gus not call him Justin; he felt it was disrespectful to not give him a title of sorts.  Justin secretly liked ‘Daddy J’ the best, but he never said anything.  Gus could have called him ‘Hey You’ for all Justin cared; it would have changed nothing.  He had been present the night Gus was born and as far as he was concerned, the boy was his son. 

“Come on kid,” Brian said, “they’re done with us, we can board.” 

On the plane, Gus busied himself by eating everything that was offered to him, along with changing the music channels as often as he could.  Brian and Justin tried to wind down and relax after the crazy, hectic weekend they had just had.  They each asked for a drink and after a few swigs of his Scotch, Justin said, “I hope Molly and Vince got off okay.  I feel bad that we couldn’t attend the breakfast this morning but with Lindsay’s mom and all the planning for this trip, there just wasn’t any time.” 

“I’m sure they’ll understand, Sunshine, besides, the last thing they’re thinking about right now is who was at the breakfast.  Hopefully they’re doing other more important things,” Brian said, smiling in his really naughty, little boy way. 

Justin turned to him with a look that spoke volumes. 

“Don’t worry,” Brian said looking at Gus.  “He can’t hear a word we’re saying.” 

“It doesn’t matter,” Justin answered in his prissy, school teacher voice.  “We shouldn’t be talking about such things in front of him.” 

“Come on, Sunshine, when I was fourteen going on fifteen, I was doing a lot more than talking about, THINGS.” 

“Shut up, Brian,” Justin said in a low voice, as he tapped Brian on the leg.  “He’s not you.” 

“Whatever,” Brian answered.  Picking up his drink and downing it in one swallow, he told Justin to ask for another one while he went to the bathroom. Stepping over Justin and then Gus, Brian thought, _this is certainly going to be different.  I haven’t played Mr. Mom in a long time and neither has Sunshine.  Hope we don’t royally fuck this up._

When they got to the Toronto Airport, they decided to take a Limo instead of renting a car.  Melanie and Lindsay had two perfectly good vehicles in their garage so it made no sense to rent another one. 

It was almost ten-thirty at night when they got home.  Gus led the way as they entered the front door, throwing his duffel bag and backpack down on the floor. 

“Dad,” he said, “you and ‘D’ can stay upstairs, in Mom and Mama’s room, or in the guest room downstairs, whatever you want.” 

“We’ll stay downstairs, Gus, in the guestroom,” Justin said, “that way we don’t disturb any of their things.” 

_That way, we don’t have to sleep in their beds and imagine the_ _Lesbionic horrors that go on in there_ , Brian thought to himself. 

Looking at Brian and reading his mind, Justin quickly changed the subject and said, “Anybody hungry?”

“I am,” Gus said. 

“Of course you are, son, after all, it’s been almost two whole hours since you had the cheeseburger, milk shake and fries.  Not to mention all the junk you ate on the plane.”  Brian smiled at Gus and playfully flicked his hair.  “You guys go and eat.  I’m going to see if I can catch anything worthwhile on the news.” 

In the kitchen Justin asked, “Cereal or real food?”

“Cereal is fine,” Gus replied, walking over to the kitchen cabinet and taking out two bowls and a couple of spoons.  He put them on the counter then walked over to the pantry for the box of Cheerios. Justin got the milk out of the fridge and poured it into the two bowls. 

“So, tell me about the schedule for the camp,” Justin asked as he spooned some cereal into his mouth.

“I’ve got to be there by five sharp or they’ll make me run laps.  Then you and Dad can leave and pick me up at seven, or you can stay and watch if you want.  A lot of parents do.  Bring some chairs, we have some lawn chairs in the garage, and sit on the side lines,” Gus said, munching on his cereal. 

“Okay,” Justin said.  “How far is the school?”

“It’s about a fifteen minute drive.  Not far at all.” 

“Fine, maybe we’ll stay and watch tomorrow, since it’s the first day,” Justin said as he watched Gus eat.  

He couldn’t help but make comparisons to Brian since the boy was so obviously his clone.  _This is what Brian looked like as a young boy,_ Justin thought to himself.  _Only this child is being raised in a happy loving home, without a father who physically abused him and a mother who didn’t know the first thing about loving anyone._  

Physically, father and son were almost identical, except Gus had Lindsay’s nose which was a little more prominent than Brian’s.  The lips and chin were the same.  The eyes, however, were a bit different.  Brian’s eyes were hazel, a mix of browns, greens and amber.  Aside from these three colors, Gus’ eyes also had dark blue flecks in them which made for an even more interesting mix and a more arresting feature.  The big difference between them of course was the aura of edginess that surrounded Brian like a second skin.  This was missing in Gus.  He didn’t have the many layers of armor that Brian possessed.  The layers that had taken Justin years to chip away at, little by little.  The innate distrust and cynicism that was so much a part of Brian was completely missing in Gus.  He was a child brought up in a loving home, with two women who had never raised a hand or spoken a harsh word.  He was surrounded by love and respect from all the adults in his life.  The summers he spent in Pittsburg with his two fathers, were equally as peaceful and loving.  They made every effort to allow him into their daily lives and Brian felt it important that he impart the much needed ‘male’ influence that was sorely lacking in Toronto.  They did as much with him as they could.    

As a result, Gus was open and happy, uncomplicated in most things.  His interests were varied though and he was very much the child of his environment.  His tastes were eclectic and diverse; much like his four parents.  He loved modern technology and science, yet on the other hand he loved the arts and had an eye for color that made Justin so proud.  He dabbled in Lindsay’s studio, painting with oils, producing some pretty decent canvases.  Most of his art was learned during the summer months when Justin spent endless hours with him in his studio.  At school, Gus made fairly decent grades, the kind everyone expected of him.  Yet, he somehow found the time to participate in sports and after school activities with his friends.  He was popular with girls as well as boys and there always seemed to be a group of kids over at the Peterson-Marcus home.  All in all, this child, who was on the verge of manhood, was special and unique, much like the four people who had nurtured him all these years.   

Later, after they’d all gone to bed, Justin asked Brian if he wanted to watch the practice tomorrow.  

“May as well,” he replied, “that’s why we’re here.”   

It was going to be different this coming week, because for the first time, Brian and Justin were actually going to be playing a part in Gus’ daily life, on his home turf.  Having him during the holidays or in the summer months was a completely different thing.  He was in the vacation mode, not sticking to any sort of schedule and more or less doing whatever caught his fancy, or whatever Brian and Justin had planned for the day.  This week would be all about running him back and forth to school, having his meals ready and laundry done; all the daily chores that they had never done before, because someone else had always done it for them.  In a sense, this would be their first experience at the nuts and bolts of parenting.  Being driver, cook and house keeper and generally catering to the needs of their child. 

Brian was on his side when he felt Justin spoon up to him and snake his arm over his waist to pull him in tight. 

 “Are you tired,” Justin asked? 

“Yeah, but never too tired for this,” Brian replied. 

“It feels weird, having sex in this house, knowing Gus is only a few rooms away.” 

“What are you talking about?” Brian asked.  “We fuck like rabbits all the time when he’s over at our house.” 

“That’s different Brian.  We’re in our house and there are hundreds of square feet between our room and his.  Here, he’s just upstairs” 

“I’m sure he’s asleep by now. Besides, he’s not interested in what we’re doing.” 

“You don’t think so?” Justin asked. 

“Look, I never spent one minute of my waking hours thinking about what my parents did behind closed doors.  The last thing I wanted to think of was them doing it, it was disgusting!” 

“It’s different for Gus though, Brian.  He’s being raised by two gay couples.  I’m sure the thought has crossed his mind that we’re not exactly like the family in ‘Eight is Enough’. He probably **does** wonder what we do.” 

“Maybe so,” Brian answered, moving Justin’s hand up to his mouth and kissing each finger, slowly, one by one. Turning around, Brian found himself face to face with the blue eyes that always seemed to see too deep into his soul.  

“Sunshine,” he whispered, “can we stop talking about fucking and actually do it?  This conversation is just making me hard.” 

“Promise me you won’t make a sound, okay Brian, or we’ll have to stop.” 

“I’m not the screamer, Sunshine, you are.” 

Putting his mouth on Justin, he proceeded to lick and taste and within minutes, he heard the first moan coming from deep within Justin’s throat. “What’d I tell you?” he whispered. 

“Shut up and kiss me again,” Justin answered back. Rolling Justin over onto his stomach, Brian started kissing his neck and back.  Light kisses, fluttering over his shoulders like soft breezes on a summer night.  His right hand slowly moved downward, pressing harder on Justin’s torso, ending up on his ass, kneading and rubbing all the way down towards his hole.  His mouth followed, slowly moving down Justin’s back, wetting him with his tongue and then blowing at the wetness, feeling Justin shudder, desperately trying not to make a sound.  Brian lifted him up and slid a pillow under his stomach, elevating his ass so that he had better access.  He started to swirl his tongue around the entrance, feeling him pucker and clench.  The whimpers were starting to get louder and soon Justin was begging to be fucked.  Turning over, Justin pulled Brian towards him, whispering, “Fuck me.”  Brian lifted Justin’s legs up to his shoulders and was getting ready to enter him but before he did, he pulled a condom off the pile he kept near the bed, the same place he always kept his stash, no matter where he was.  He rolled one on himself and pulled Justin closer.  “Tell me again, Sunshine,” he said, while he kissed his throat and moved upwards to suck on his earlobe.  “Brian,” Justin moaned, moving his head from left to right, trying to escape the mouth that was clamped to him, driving him crazy.  Brian heard Justin’s sharp intake of breath as he entered him, slowly, drawing out the pleasure, enjoying the dance.  His hips started moving back and forth, as Justin matched his pace, their timing in sync, as always.  Justin kept pulling Brian closer, wanting him deeper, and feeling him hit the right spot over and over.    

He looked into Brian’s face, seeing it change as the feelings took over.  _I just saw the face of God, and his name is Brian Kinney._ He never tired of looking at this man, the man he had loved nearly half of his life.  This was his biggest aphrodisiac; watching Brian react to him like this, knowing he brought him so much pleasure.  He reached up to caress Brian’s face, skimming his thumb over Brian’s mouth as that special smile appeared, the smile that was reserved only for him.   

All too soon, they were in their special place; where everything was hot and exciting, yet, safe and comforting at the same time.  The groaning was more intense now, the sounds of their passion getting louder with each thrust.     

Both of them were doing it, oblivious to anyone listening.            


	4. Chapter 4

  
Author's notes: The suburb of Rosedale does actually exist, and all of my descriptions of this town are accurate and true.  The Canadian-American High School, however, does not.  There is no such school in Rosedale and my descriptions of the school are based on several schools that I have attended when I lived outside the United States.  As most expatriates know, there is always one school in most foreign cities where Americans send their children, hoping to retain some of the flavor of their country, as well as the ecucational standards.  


* * *

Hell Week, Chapter 4

Brian’s internal clock woke him at six, the same as it had done every day for years.  It seemed that the older he got, the less he slept, which was fine with him.  He figured he would get all the sleep he needed once he was dead.  Right now, he was very much alive and wanted to get out from under the blond lump that was pressing on his chest.  Justin slept like a baby, his mouth slightly open, hair fanning out over Brian’s body, tickling him. They must have fallen asleep immediately after they had made love, but Brian didn’t remember shifting position in the middle of the night.  It was always like this it seemed.  He would start out on top but somewhere along the way, Justin always landed on his chest in the morning.  God only knew when or how this happened, he never remembered or really cared, it was just curious. 

Moving Justin off him and slowly crawling to the edge of the bed, he grabbed his sweat pants, threw them on and made a beeline for the bathroom in the hallway.  After a much needed piss, he went to the kitchen to see if he could scrounge up some decent coffee.  Hopefully Melanie kept something more potent than the decaffeinated shit Lindsay preferred.   

Walking through the living room, he noticed a lot more this morning than he did last night.  Although the place was comfortable and the pieces of furniture were in reasonably good shape, it was not the kind of setting he liked or was used to.  The minimalist in him rebelled against anything that was not necessary, and there was plenty of that in this room.  Pillows, picture frames on tables, figurines, bowls filled with potpourri; all the paraphernalia he never liked around was making him itch.  One entire wall was taken up by family pictures in frames of different sizes and shapes.  Walking over to have a closer look he saw that he was in a lot of the pictures. There was a picture of the night Gus was born, with him holding the baby and Justin and Michael to the side.  Then there were the many different portraits of Gus and Jenny that were taken every year on their birthdays at the photo studio downtown.  A yearly ritual the kids had to endure for ‘posterity’, Mel and Lindsay said.  There was a picture of him and Justin dressed in their evening wear, taken the night of their wedding rehearsal dinner, shortly before they announced the wedding was off.  There were pictures taken at Mel and Lindsay’s wedding, with George and Emmett at the Shickel mansion.  More pictures of Lindsay’s family, her sister with her current husband.  And of course, the disastrous Bris that never was; there were at least 3 pictures from that nightmarish day with Mel’s family gathered around the Rabbi and holding poor innocent Gus before the intended mutilation.  _Thank God I put a stop to that shit!_   Then of course there were the pictures of Michael and Ben, Hunter and his family, Debbie and Carl. There was even one of Vic Grassi, in his famous Hawaiian shirt.   It was a who’s who of Melanie and Lindsay’s life and all the people they loved.  Finally, he saw the one picture that he was searching for, a picture of him and Justin, taken that winter afternoon in New York, in front of Cartier.  The day they had decided to make it official by buying the most beautiful rings the store had to offer and exchanging vows in private, after the hottest fuck in the men’s bathroom, fully aware that every clerk in the place knew what they were doing.

_Fun times_ , he thought to himself as he left the rogues gallery and kept on moving towards the kitchen.  Opening one cupboard after another he finally saw a small package of Starbucks House Blend.  _Thank Christ!_ He prepared the coffee maker and waited for salvation.

Around nine, after several cups of coffee and reading every online newspaper article that was pertinent to his business life, Brian closed his laptop and decided to explore.  He poked his head into the room and saw that Justin had not moved.  Taking the stairs two at a time,  he looked in on Gus and saw that he too was still fast asleep. He grabbed his t-shirt and his shoes and made his way out to the garage, where he chose the Saab, four-door Sedan.  He left the Subaru SUV for Justin, in case he got up before Brian got back.  The Saab was definitely not the kind of car he would ever own, but he supposed that in the world of Muncherville, it was a cool car.   

When Melanie and Lindsay decided to move to Canada, many years ago, they researched all the suburbs to death and decided on Rosedale.  It was considered one of the most desirable and wealthiest neighborhoods in Toronto.  Rosedale was unique in that is was surrounded by beautiful ravines and parkland, making you feel as if you were far from the city when in reality it was just a few minutes from Toronto’s major business, entertainment and shopping district.  They liked the fact that it was so close to the city in case their jobs took them into town.  They also liked the fact that the homes were older and the families more established and not so transient.    

Rosedale was an older suburb of Toronto, with larger homes and more property on each lot.  There were many mansions built in the early nineteen-hundreds, Victorians and Tudors, that had been restored on the inside, to modernize them, but on the outside all the minute details that came with the original property still remained.  Here and there were a few modern homes, but for the most part, it remained a historic site.  Many people from other parts of the city would take drives around the neighborhood to look at the houses and try and replicate them elsewhere.  

They had fallen in love with Rosedale the week they had come up to house hunt.  The real estate agent had hesitated to show it to them, because the homes were more expensive than in other areas, not because they were a same-sex couple.  It was refreshing to have someone discriminate because of money and not sexual orientation; made them feel like every other person on the planet.  Of course the agent had no idea who she was dealing with; Melanie Marcus, the queen of saving money and making the best ‘deals’.  After much thought and many consultations with their financial planner, Ted Schmidt, it was determined that they could afford to buy a home there, much to everyone’s delight.      

The house Melanie and Lindsay had bought was modest but large enough for their family with a guest room to spare.  Over the years many improvements had been made, and Brian and Justin never failed to contribute in some way or another.  When they came to town they hardly ever stayed for more than a day or two, and more often than not, would stay at a hotel rather than impose on Melanie and Lindsay.  This week would be the first time that he and Justin stayed longer than forty-eight hours.   And it would be the first time they would be spending most of their waking hours in the suburbs.

Spying a Starbucks, Brian stopped and decided to get a double shot latte for himself and one to go, for Justin.  He bought a few muffins for Gus, and a pound of Espresso Roast and a bean grinder to take home. Starting the day with mediocre coffee was not his idea of fun; nothing could ruin his day quicker than that.  Getting back in the car, he decided to drive by the school and see how far it was from the house.  This way he would be sure to get Gus to practice on time with no bitching from anyone.    

The Canadian-American High School was a private school run by many Americans who had moved to Toronto in the late Nineties.  There were several Canadians on their Board of Directors, but the majority of the people who ran the school were American.  They tried to cater their program to the American educational system so that when the students transferred back to the United States they’d have an easier time with the transition.  Aside from maintaining extremely high standards in academics, they made it a point to try and teach most sports that were played in America, as well as the fun activities that were associated with each sport, like cheerleading and school dances.    This is why Melanie and Lindsay had picked this school for Gus.  They knew that he would be going to College in the US.  It was something all four parents had agreed on.  It only made sense then to try and make the transition from one system to the other as easy as possible.  The perk for Gus was that he would finally be able to play American football.   Something he had wanted to do for a long time.  He wasn’t even sure he would like it, or be good at it, but he wanted the opportunity to see for himself.   

Brian drove up to the front of the school and parked the car.  It looked much like any other high school he’d ever seen.  The only difference was that two flags were flying on the twin poles in front of the entrance.  One was the Canadian flag and the other American.  There were several cars parked in the lot, but not any kids walking around because it was still summer vacation and they weren’t due back for another three weeks.  The only ones who would be coming this week were the kids trying out for the football team.  Putting his car in gear he looked at his watch and headed back home. 

The smell of bacon was in the air when Brian pulled into the garage.  Entering the kitchen through the side door he saw Justin busy at the cooking center and Gus sitting at the counter waiting patiently for his food. 

“Greetings, serfs and vassals,” Brian announced as he gave Gus a peck on the top of his head, handed him the bag of muffins and moved over to plant a big wet kiss on Justin’s lips while handing him his latte. 

“Hey,” Justin said.  “I didn’t hear you leave earlier.  Where’d you go?” 

“I decided to explore a little.  Also, had to make a Starbucks run and buy supplies for the rest of the week.”  He dug into the bag and brought out the pound of coffee and the bean grinder. 

“Here,” he said, handing the packages over to Justin, “see if you can find a container for this.” 

“I went by your school Gus; looks pretty nice from the outside.  I also timed the ride.  It’s exactly eighteen minutes, from door to door.” 

Gus looked at his father and said, “It is pretty nice.  We took the grand tour last April and I think it’ll be okay.  A few of my friends from middle school will be going there too, so I’ll already know a few people.” 

“Are any of them going to the camp?” Justin asked as he put a plate of bacon, eggs and slices of cantaloupe in front of Gus.   

“Austin is,” Gus said, picking up a piece of fruit and biting in to it. 

“Austin?” Brian said as he swiped a piece of bacon off Gus’ plate. 

Looking at Justin, Brian asked, “Can I have some of that?”  

“Sure, give me a minute.” 

“You know,” Gus said, “Austin Lehigh.  He and I have been best friends since we moved here.”

“Oh, right, Austin. He lives near here?” 

“A few blocks over.  His dad’s a doctor and his mom’s a nurse.” “Are they straight?” 

“Yup,” Gus said as he chewed his food slowly.   Justin finished frying Brian’s eggs and placed them on a plate with four strips of bacon and two pieces of whole wheat toast, dry.  

“You want some fruit?” Justin asked. 

“No thanks, Sunshine, this is good.  Aren’t you eating anything?”

“I had some just before you got here.”  Justin walked over to the microwave and nuked his latte.  

“Lindsay called while you were out,” Justin said.  “Her mother’s doing really well and they think she’ll be moved out of intensive care by this evening.” 

“That’s good news,” Brian said. 

“How come Grandmother had a heart attack Dad?  I thought only fat people had those?” 

“Not true son,” Brian answered.  “Some of the skinniest people have heart attacks too.  It’s all in the genes.” 

“Are you ever going to have one, Dad? 

“I hope not, Gus.  My blood levels are checked every year and they’re pretty good, although if your 'Daddy J' doesn’t stop feeding us like The Three Little Pigs, we’ll all have a heart attack!”  

“Come on, Brian,” Justin said, “you know you only eat bacon once in a while.  A little bit of anything can’t be too bad.” 

“You’re right,” Brian said. “Gus, are you all set for this afternoon?  Do you have the right clothes and your football cleats?” 

Gus looked at his father and said, “Cleats?”

 

      


	5. Chapter 5

Hell Week, Chapter 5  

_Never expect a lesbian to do a man’s job._ This was the mantra going through Brian’s head as the three of them made a mad dash into downtown Toronto to buy Gus’ equipment and be back home and ready for practice in approximately 3 hours. 

“I can’t believe your Moms didn’t get your football shoes and other stuff way ahead of time.”   

“I think they were planning on doing it today, Dad.” 

“Today,” Brian said, amazed. 

“Don’t they know that you have to break in your shoes, for God’s sake?  You can’t go on a football field with brand new cleats.  You’ll have blisters within an hour!” 

“It’s too late now,” Justin said calmly.  “We’ll just have to buy what we can, and Gus, you should bring an extra pair of tennis shoes in case your feet start hurting.  That way you won’t have to stop.” 

“Okay, ‘DJ’, that sounds like a good idea.” 

“Dad, when you played football, did they have a Hell Week?” 

“No.  Not really.  They just threw us out on the practice field the first week of school and whoever made it, made it.  The kids who didn’t get to play went home and stuck their heads in a toilet bowl.” 

“Are you serious?” 

“No, of course I’m not!  They just felt like total losers cause they didn’t make the cut.” 

“Did you like it?” Gus asked. 

“Yes and no.  I liked the competition and the physical aspects of the sport.  I didn’t much care for the attitudes and bullshit that went with it.” 

“Like what?” 

“You’ll have to judge for yourself, Gus.  Football isn’t for everyone.  You’re either going to love it, or hate it.  There’s no gray in football.   Some of the toughest kids I knew hated it.  On the other hand, some kids who never did well at anything else did really well in football.  You just won’t know till you go out there and try.”   

As they made their way into the parking lot of the Sports Center, Brian’s thoughts went back to his high school days.   

He had decided to try out for the football team because he was tired of hearing his father compare him to Tommy Malone, the kid who lived across the street.  Tommy’s father bowled with Jack every Friday night and did nothing but brag about his son.  Since Brian wasn’t into any sports, Jack had nothing to brag about, and this would piss him off and give him yet one more excuse to get wasted and beat up on Brian when he got home.

After a while Brian got tired of the whole Friday night routine and decided to prove his father wrong.  He wanted to show him that he could do it, and in a sense, show himself as well.  Being Gay was one thing, being a coward and a pussy was not him.  Maybe if his father saw that he was strong and tough out on the field he might have second thoughts the next time he decided to lift a hand.  

Brian knew he was Gay just before he became a preadolescent.  He had stopped trying to fight it or deny it.  He continued to hide it from everyone except for Michael who knew just about everything about him since he spent more time at the Novotny house than he did his own.  He was terrified that his father would find out, giving him yet one more reason to hit him or insult him during his nightly binges.Fortunately, when Jack was sober, he was so self-absorbed that he didn’t pay much attention to anything Brian did.   

By the time the infamous encounter with the gym teacher occurred, Brian was starting to branch out a little and become more daring.  Mikey continued to cover up for him, never saying anything lest his own can of worms be opened up.  Nonetheless, Brian remained silent and reclusive, not getting close to anyone at school but Mikey.  The boys who tried out for the football team were a bit wary of Brian, unable to read him.  They had heard that he had a bad temper.  They knew he was a loner and didn’t go in for the usual after school camaraderie with them.  None of them could figure out why he was friends with Michael Novotny, who was considered a dweeb, but no one really cared enough to find out.   

The cheerleaders circled around the boys like Piranha in a pool of blood.  Picking and choosing their targets, sizing up the guys and making little side bets as to who would achieve their goals by the end of the season.  Inwardly, Brian ignored them all, thinking them an immense waste of time.  He’d had his few encounters with girls and knew it wasn’t what he wanted.  Outwardly, he made nice, so they wouldn’t talk.  He even called a few of them occasionally to keep them guessing.  He couldn’t risk having anything get back to his father.

The season started out uneventfully.  Brian seemed to have a natural affinity for the sport and they placed him in a defensive position.  He loved the physicality of the sport, the crunching of the helmets and shoulder pads.  It gave him an opportunity to take out all his frustrations and inner demons on the field.  Every time he tackled someone, it was his father’s face he saw.  For every kid he brought down on the field, he scored one more victory against Jack Kinney.  

It all started going downhill when one of the boys happened to catch Brian looking a little too hard and too long at Brad Smith coming naked out of the showers.  After that, the team kept an eye on Brian and before the season was over, they had decided he was queer. Thereafter, making Brian’s life miserable became a team goal.  One on one battles were never a problem for Brian, but trying to keep an entire team away from you wasn’t easy.  Reluctantly, he admitted defeat and quit after the first year.  The coaches were disappointed.  They never understood why anyone with such a natural talent could just walk away.  Jack never forgave him.  He barely spoke to him for months and when he did it was with such contempt that Brian cringed every time he thought of it.   After that he steered away from team sports, much preferring to stick with the solo sports such as track.     

Snapping out of his reverie, Brian made his way into the shoe department, Gus and Justin in tow.  A sales clerk came up and asked if he could help as Brian picked out at a few pairs of shoes. 

“They’re for my son,” he said, pointing at Gus.  

“What size do you wear?” the salesman asked, looking at the boy. 

“I’m not sure, I think I’m a twelve,” Gus answered. 

“Twelve?  You’re feet are as big as mine,” Brian said. 

“Dad, in case you haven’t noticed, I’m almost as tall as you.” 

“That’s right Gus, almost!  You’re going to need a few more inches before you can look me in the eye, Sonny boy.” 

Justin stood sandwiched between Brian and Gus, a full head shorter than either of them, watching the exchange like he would a tennis match.  “Guys, can we get on with this, we’re running out of time.” 

After selecting the right pair of shoes Brian turned to Gus and asked, “What about pads, and a cup?” 

“Huh?” 

“Christ!  Come on,” he said, disgusted with Melanie and Lindsay, who should have taken care of this weeks ago. 

At the counter he asked the salesman for some football pads and a cup.   

Gus turned to Brian.  “Dad, I don’t need pads.  I remember reading somewhere that they’ll be handing pads out to the kids who make the team sometime during the week.  But, I guess I should get a cup, my old one doesn’t fit anymore.” 

“When did you wear that cup?” Brian said.   

“When I played ice hockey, last winter,” Gus replied. 

“That was at least six months ago Gus, I think you’ve grown since then.  Of course you’ve grown since then,” Brian said to him smiling widely, “and I mean in a good way!”   

“Dad!” Gus said as he turned bright red.  He quickly grabbed the bag that contained the athletic supporter and cup and ran into the dressing room. 

“Why’d you go and embarrass him Brian?” Justin asked.  He’s freaking out already with all the things Mel and Linds forgot.  Now you’re making him crazy with the teasing and references to big dicks.” 

“I’m not teasing, Sunshine, just stating a fact.  He’s six months older and if he hasn’t grown any in six months then something is seriously fucked up.” 

“Jesus, Brian, can we move on?”         

 Justin walked around the department as they waited for Gus, picking up some shorts and a few T-shirts for him to wear to practice.  A few minutes later Gus came out of the dressing room and reluctantly handed Brian the cup.  “This one’s fine.” 

“And, what size is it?” Brian asked. 

“Large,” Gus answered sheepishly. 

“Of course you are,” Brian said looking at Justin, all proud. 

“Shut up, Brian,” Justin said, unable to keep the grin off his face. Finally, when everything had been sized and picked out, Brian handed the clerk his Black American Express card and waited for them to prepare the bill.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

The sun was warm that afternoon, beating down on them as they watched the kids lining up for their practice.  Brian and Justin had brought the lawn chairs that Gus had recommended last night and had picked a spot near the field so they could see everything and yet not be in the way.  All along the football field they could see parents sitting in their chairs, chatting and generally having a good time catching up with their friends as they watched the boys doing their calisthenics.   Far off to the right in another field the cheerleaders did their exercises and you could faintly hear them chanting.   

“Why do they keep them so far away?” Justin asked. 

“It’s so the boys don’t get distracted by the bouncing boobs,” Brian replied sarcastically. 

“Gross.”   

“It’s true, Sunshine.  At this age they’re all a bunch of raging hormones-trouble in the making.  The last thing the coaches need to worry about is someone getting hurt cause his eyes were on the girls rather than on the ball.” 

“Well, in that case, I’m glad they’re far away.  God, I hope Jenny doesn’t get into cheer-leading.  I don’t think I could stomach that.” 

“If Melanie has any say in the matter, she won’t!” 

“It’s nice out here, isn’t it Brian?” Justin asked, looking around. 

“Yeah, they seem to have a pretty nice set-up.  The equipment looks up to date and that’s important for the kid’s safety.”  

Brian was glad that he had worn shorts.  The sun was warm and he would have a nice tan by the time he got back to the Pitts.  Justin had brought an umbrella that attached to his chair because he didn’t want to burn, which he always tended to do, because of his fair skin.

While they were talking, a woman in shorts and a tank top walked up to them, clutching a book and a pen.  

“Hi,” she said perkily, “I’m Lisa Ryan, the team mom.  I just need to go over some paper work with you.  Which one of you is the father?” 

“We both are,” they said in unison. 

“Oh,” she replied, a little disconcerted.  “Well, I need some volunteers for the practice game next Saturday and we’ll need chaperones for the dance that evening.” 

“We’re not sure how long we’ll be in town,” Brian said looking at her,   “but we’ll probably still be here on Saturday, right?” he asked Justin.  

“Sure,” Justin said.  “What exactly do you need?” 

“Oh there are many jobs available.  We need people to man the snack bar, help with the equipment, take money and tickets at the gate, help with the flags on the side lines, chaperoning or decorating at the dance, checking the stats and then calling them in to the press, announcing.  I could go on; but is there anything you’ve heard so far that might interest either one of you?” 

Brian and Justin looked at each other.  “I suppose we could chaperone at the dance,” Justin said.  “Do you need any signs or programs made up?  I can do that for you.” 

“Actually, we do.  Are you in that business?” 

“I’m an artist.  Justin Taylor,” he said, extending his hand. 

“Oh, my God,” Lisa gushed, “you’re the one that painted that mural at the Chicago Field Museum.  We saw it when we were visiting last year.” 

“I’m flattered,” Justin smiled.  “Not many people remember artist’s names.” 

“I could never forget that particular piece of work, Mr. Taylor.  My family and I were very moved by it.  In fact, we bought the poster they sold at the museum gift shop and have it hanging in our house.” 

“Please, call me Justin.  And we’ll be happy to make up the programs and signs if you need us to.  Brian is in advertising and knows as much about selling a product as anyone I know.  And this is a product we are trying to sell, correct?  The programs would generate cash for the school?” 

“Yes,” she said.  “We have local businesses that advertise in the program and their donations help with the team expenses.  The more advertisers we get, the more money we raise.” 

“Well Lisa,” Brian said, “if it’s advertising you need, you’ve come to the right place.” 

“That’s great, Mr.?” 

“Kinney, Brian Kinney.”   

“Oh, and your son is?” 

“Gus Peterson.” 

So you are Gus’ father.  How nice to finally meet you.  My son Jason is a good friend of Gus’.  They played on the same hockey team last winter.” 

“It’s nice to meet you too, Lisa.  Let us know what we can do to help.”  

“Bye,” she waved at them on her way down the line to the next group. Brian turned to look at Justin and said, “That’s pathetic Sunshine, she recognized you as the ‘famous artiste’ and all I am is Gus’ dad.”  

“Oh, get over it,” Justin said, as he grabbed Brian and kissed him on the lips. 

Although Brian had spoken those words to Justin he was really so proud of him and all the success he had achieved.  He loved it when people recognized Justin or his work.  He felt it was a reflection of his good taste when the world acknowledged Justin’s talent.  It didn’t matter that Brian had nothing to do with Justin’s God given talent.  The point was that Brian always felt he had played a large part in Justin’s career choice, encouraging him to go against his father’s wishes and follow his dream.  And of course, paying for all those years at PIFA certainly had something to do with it, however minor.

As they were having their little exchange they didn’t notice that several pairs of eyes were watching them the entire time.  When Justin reached over to kiss Brian, word started to fly up and down the sidelines, like the old-fashioned game of post office.  By the time the news had traveled to the last person down the line, they were told that the couple was practically fornicating on the field. 

Canada might be a gay-friendly country, and Toronto especially so, but the world of sports, football in particular, still had a long way to go in acceptance.  The Drew Boyd’s who survived coming out in this environment were few and far between.   

Most of the families that lived around Gus knew that he came from a same-sex household.  When the families had met Lindsay and Melanie years ago they were shocked because Rosedale was primarily a straight neighborhood.  Sure, there were some same-sex marriages that had sneaked in on the fringes of town, but most of those people had no children and were not really involved in the community.  Lindsay and Melanie, however, made it a point to become extremely involved in the neighborhood, joining several organizations and participating whole-hearted in many school activities with the kids.  Eventually, the parents they had met realized that these two women were just like them, with the same concerns for their family and very similar values.  As time went on, the fact that they were gay became a non-issue.  No one gave it much thought.  They just saw two women who wanted the best for their kids and who were willing to make the sacrifices to make it all happen.   

The children’s fathers though were a separate issue.  It was just assumed that Gus and Jenny had come from some sperm bank.  None of their friends had really asked Mel and Linds for any details about the fathers, so when they did find out that the sperm bank never was tapped for donations but that friends were asked instead, they were a little bit intrigued.  No one really knew much about these friends who had donated their sperm, because they lived in Pittsburgh.  When they came to town to visit, they usually stayed for just a few days and didn’t really socialize.  Seeing Brian and Justin in the flesh seemed to make it so much more real.   

Gus only spoke about Brian and Justin when asked.  He never volunteered any information other than to say that they lived in the USA and that he would be visiting them in the summer and during holidays.  He didn’t talk about them, because he didn’t think any one of his friends cared one way or the other; not because he was ashamed in any way.    

From an early age Gus and Jenny had been told that their parents were gay.  It was a statement of fact, made as soon as they could speak and communicate.  Gus understood that he and Jenny were different from a lot of kids in school because they lived with two moms and they had two dads living in another city.

 

Many of his friends came from broken homes and had different sets of parents, birth parents and step parents.  None of them, however, had two mothers living in the same house.  And certainly none of them had two sets of fathers that lived together.   

Gus never gave any of it a moment of thought.  He never had too.   

TBC    



	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6, Rated NC 17

It was Tuesday, the second day of Hell Week, and Brian sat on the sidelines watching Gus in the group of kids who were practicing throwing the ball. So far, Gus and two other boys seemed to have the best arms in the group. Gus had a slight advantage over them because he was taller and better able to see over the crowd of kids to spot the wide receiver. The coaches had not made any decisions yet as to who would be the quarterback, but Brian was pretty sure they would pick Gus. He seemed to be made for that position.

Justin sat beside Brian, sketch pad on his lap, filling in the details on a drawing he had started yesterday. His eyes were focused on the colors and subtle shades he was trying to incorporate into the sketch. He noticed nothing of the interplay between the kids and the coaches. He only saw the whole scene through the lens of an artist, not someone who knew the game. He had never been interested in sports, and other than the encounter he'd had with Chris Hobbs in the equipment room at St. James Academy, he had no real knowledge of football.

Brian on the other hand knew the game well. He knew what to watch for and was able to judge the teaching and evaluate the players. He had spoken to a few of the coaches after practice, interested in hearing what they had to say about Gus. So far there had been many compliments about Gus' arm, his stamina and intensity on the field, and his ability to multi-task which was an important quality in a quarterback.

Brian's antennae were also picking up a not-too-subtle message of condescension towards him, because he was gay, and therefore in the coach's opinion, unable to understand the sport. Brian was used to this kind of message from the straight world; he just never expected to find it here in Canada. He'd heard for years how Canada was so Gay friendly and what a big difference it was living here, but he was picking up the familiar signals that straight people gave off everywhere. The signals that said if you were gay, you couldn't know much about sports. Because, if you were gay, all you thought about was your Netherworld where fucking and primping were the primary concerns.

It was ridiculous, really, that many people equated being gay with being mentally disabled in some way. It was always interesting to Brian when this happened, especially in the business world. Some of his happiest memories involved seeing the look of surprise on the faces of his business rivals who were stunned into silence when they realized that the 'gay' advertising exec was ten times smarter and more talented, and made off with every account he sought. There are only two kinds of straight people; the ones who hate you to your face, and the ones who hate you behind your back. This had always been Brian's opinion and had not varied much through the years.

But what concerned him right now was that his presence might negatively affect anyone's opinion of Gus. He knew that people were talking about him and Justin. After that first kiss on day one of practice, they had become the couple to watch. It was hard not to notice them.

They were both very attractive, beautiful some might say. Brian knew he was aging remarkably well; he could easily pass for someone in his mid-thirties, despite being almost forty-four years old. He was still slim and all the years of going to the gym with the guys showed in his build. There was not one ounce of fat on him, and even from a distance, you could see the cut of muscle distinctly outlined across his back and arms. Justin, of course, was in his prime, still looking years younger than his actual thirty-two. They both had full heads of hair, Justin's blond and worn long, the way Brian liked it. The rays of the sun bounced off the blondness, making him shine and seem almost ethereal at certain angles. Brian's shock of dark hair was thick and healthy, made for running your fingers through, which Justin did constantly. No matter where they went, people stared; women, as well as men. They couldn't help it. Now, with Gus added to the mix, they were without a doubt, three very attractive people that drew attention wherever they went.

Most of this attention was positive, but there were a few that looked at them as if they were insects under a microscope. Rosedale was a primarily straight neighborhood, and Brian was sensing a lot of speculation as to what he and Justin were really like, and whether they would fit in. He was used to this, he'd been dealing with it all his life and it didn't bother him in the least bit. What he wanted to prevent, though, was anyone talking about Gus or changing their opinion of him because his fathers were gay and visible for the first time. This was something that he worried about and he was constantly looking for signs that it could possibly be happening.

Gus had not mentioned anything to either Justin or himself, but he was such an innocent in many ways, trusting and seeing the good in people all the time, he wouldn't be able to see anything like that unless it was shoved in his face. So far, he hadn't mentioned anything about anyone being weird or saying anything insulting to him. Nonetheless, Brian kept his eyes open and watchful for anything untoward. He supposed he was just being paranoid and a little too protective, but right now, he felt this was his job.

They had received numerous invitations to attend gatherings after practice. Impromptu pizza parties or barbeques were regular occurrences and all three of them were always asked to come along. Many of the fathers liked to get together to rehash things they had seen at practice and speculate about who would be playing in what position. A few mothers seemed very interested in their kid's future positions as well, and Brian had noticed several of them walking up to the coaches on the sidelines asking questions. One lady in particular seemed a bit too interested, in Brian's opinion, constantly interrupting while the Coach was talking and generally being a pest. He wasn't sure who her son was but he was pretty sure they would find out soon enough.

So far he and Justin had not attended any of the after practice gatherings, preferring to watch and wait before making any commitments. The only thing they had promised to do at this point was help with the upcoming programs, and chaperone for the Saturday night dance. Even that was more than he had bargained for.

Midway through the practice the kids were given a 'water break' and Gus came over to have a few sips of the Gatorade that they had packed for him.

"Hey Gus," Justin said, looking up from his drawing, "how's it going?"

"Good. I really like the quarterback position." He took a swig of the Gatorade and shook his head to knock some of the sweat off. Justin handed Gus a face towel so he could dry off.

"You think they'll pick me to play that spot Dad?"

"If they have any brains they will," Brian replied. "I don't know," Gus answered. "I've never done this before. Maybe they'll go with someone who played quarterback on the Pee Wee level."

"That's possible," Brian replied. "But I think at this point most of you are on the same level playing field and they'll go with the kid who has the most potential. Which would be you," he said looking at his son.

"That would be awesome," Gus replied, with a grin on his face.

As they sat, several cheerleaders started coming their way, also on their breaks, and therefore able to mingle with the players without serious reprimands from the coaches.

"Oh boy," Brian said. "Here come the Squeelies."

"Brian," Justin said, "why do you keep calling them that?"

"I've always called them that, Sunshine. Because, that's all they do when they're in a group. They get together and squeal, always drove me crazy when I was in school. Watch and see for yourself," he said.

Gus moved away from Brian and Justin when the girls came up to him. Sure enough, the three of them started speaking in really high voices, giggling and flirting, making nonsensical small talk and generally checking Gus out.

"Christ," Justin said in a low voice, so that only Brian could hear, "They're cruising him, as if this were the back room at Babylon. Look at that one girl, Brian, the blonde. She's all over him, like a fucking pole dancer."

"Settle down, Sunshine, they're just checking out the merchandise."

"But they're only fourteen and fifteen! Watching this is giving me hives," Justin said.

"Yeah, well get used to it. Gus is a good looking boy. Remember what I was doing when I was fifteen? This is only the beginning," Brian said, smiling to himself.

"He's not you Brian. Does he even know how to be safe?" Justin asked.

"Huh?"

"Brian," Justin said, shocked, "I can't believe you're looking at me like that! You mean to tell me you haven't had a talk with him yet about safe sex?"

"I'm sure Mel or Linds have already done that," Brian replied defensively.

"I doubt it," Justin answered. "Besides, what would they know about condoms and dicks anyhow? They haven't seen a real live one in years."

"Alright, already, shut the fuck up! I'll talk to him in the next few days. Christ, Sunshine, you are such a drama queen."

"I may be queening, but if you don't get on this, Brian, you're going to be a grandfather way too young! I thought that you took care of this a long time ago. You, of all people! I've never known anyone more neurotic than you are about condoms; you still make us wear the damn things even though we've been monogamous for years."

"Yeah, well better safe than sorry, I've always said." He looked over at Justin, smiled and said, "Maybe we'll have a condom burning party one of these days, Sunshine, and forego them all together. On the other hand, I don't think you can burn rubber, can you?"

"No," Justin replied, trying not to laugh, "With the amount of stock we have, we'd just upset the ozone layer and create an environmental disaster."

"Maybe I'll just have it all shipped here so Gus will have a lifetime supply!"

Laughing out loud, Justin took his sketch pad and playfully whacked Brian's leg.

"Don't make promises you know you won't keep, Brian. And stop looking at me like that; it's making me hard and we can't do a thing about it."

"If you care to take a little walk with me, I would be happy to relieve you of the problem," Brian said in his most seductive voice.

Justin groaned and looked the other way. "Stop it Brian, or I'll embarrass myself."

Brian laughed and pulled Justin over and kissed him full on the mouth.

Just then the whistle blew and the kids went back to their respective groups to continue with the practice. The coach had Gus throwing balls to several boys who were trying out for the wide receiver position. One of them was Austin, Gus' best friend, a pretty decent runner and catcher from what Brian observed. It would be nice if they both got the spots they were trying out for. They would be a good team, important in their own way and not having to out-do each other.

Brian's thoughts were interrupted by Lisa Ryan, who walked up to them with her ever-present team book in hand.

"Hey, guys, how's it going?"

"Good," Justin answered. "What's up?"

"We're having a get together tomorrow night at the Gentry home. We'd love it if you three would come?"

Justin looked at Brian and saw him nod. "That will be great, Lisa. Is there anything you'd like us to bring?"

"Bring any cut of meat that you'd like to barbeque, enough for the three of you. We have other families bringing the drinks and all the other stuff. Also, if you'd like to bring a side dish, a salad or casserole, that would be great."

"Okay," Justin answered.

"See you tomorrow," Lisa replied perkily, turning to make her way down the line to the next parent group.

"Are you sure about that, Brian? I thought you wanted to stay away from parties at this point."

"Yeah, I know what I said. I'm re-thinking that. I don't want them to think we're anti-social, even though I'm sure we'll be bored out of our minds."

"I'm sure Gus will be happy we're going," Justin replied.

"I know, Sunshine. Why do you think I said, yes? I'll just have a few beers when I get there. I know we won't fit in, but hopefully I'll have enough of a buzz on me that I won't care."

When practice was finally over, they made their way out to the car. They decided to stop at a Thai restaurant on the way home so they wouldn't have to cook. Even though Justin enjoyed cooking, Brian didn't expect him to do it every day, and all three of them loved Thai, so tonight would be a 'take out' night. It had been an interesting two days and only promised to get more so. Brian had hired a cleaning lady to come in every day, because he couldn't be bothered with any of that and he didn't want Justin to either. The house was finally getting to the point where he was comfortable and the last thing he wanted to do was clean house. He had never done it before and wasn't about to start now.

As they walked through the door they heard the house phone ringing. Gus grabbed it before anyone else could and spoke into the phone.

"Hello."

Brian and Justin watched as Gus' face turned red and he said, "Hi, Ashley."

Justin looked at Brian and said softly, "Here we go, ready or not."

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

On Wednesday afternoon they headed home after practice so that Gus could shower and change before the barbeque.

The Gentry's lived in an old Victorian about five blocks from Mel and Lindsay's. There were cars parked all along the street by the time they got there. Brian had a few beers before he left home so he was relaxed and comfortable, for now. 

Lisa Ryan opened the front door, and in her usual enthusiastic manner hugged everyone and took the Chinese Chicken Salad that Justin handed her, along with the package of steaks they had brought for the barbeque. 

"Almost everyone is here, you guys. Come on in and mingle," she said in her usual perky way. 

Gus left them and headed out to the backyard to see if Austin had already arrived. Brian and Justin made their way over to the bar where two of the coaches were acting as bar tenders. 

"What can I get you gentlemen?" Coach Barton said. 

"I'll have a beer," Brian answered. 

"Me too," Justin said, reaching over to take the two beers from the coach and hand one over to Brian. 

"So, how do you guys like your visit so far?" Coach Andrews asked. 

He'd heard about these two from the other coaches and was curious to see what exactly made them tick. He'd never really been around gay people, even though he'd lived in Canada all his life. Meeting Brian and Justin would be a first for him. He was surprised that they both looked like any other guy he'd meet on the street. Better looking for sure, but neither one of them had nail polish on, or a pink scarf hanging around his neck. No big signs that said, 'I am Gay'. 

They were just two guys asking about their kid, just like any other dad. In fact, listening to Brian questioning Coach Barton, he realized that Brian knew a lot about football, more so than many of the other parents. Big surprise! Justin, on the other hand, was interested, but not as knowledgeable about the sport.

"So, Coach," Brian asked. "Have you picked the quarterback yet?" 

"Well, we've narrowed it down to three kids. Gus is one of them. He's really pretty good, considering he's never played football before." 

"When are you going to decide?" Justin asked. "You're not going to wait till Friday, are you?" 

"No, of course not," Coach Andrews said. "Why would we do that?" 

"Well, that's what we were told would happen," replied Justin. 

"No, that's only in the Pee Wee level; where they torture the kids and the parents by making them wait out the whole week. We can pretty much tell by the third day if your son is going to make it or not. In fact we've already sent home thirty of the kids who started out on Monday." 

"Really," Justin said. "I hadn't noticed." 

"I did," Brian said. "I just didn't say anything, so you wouldn't freak." 

"Thanks," Justin said, looking at Brian in disgust. 

"We're thinking of just training all three boys," Coach Andrews said, "that way we'll have two alternates, in case there are any injuries." 

"Are you going to be telling them tonight?" Brian asked. 

"I think so," the coach said. "It'll make them more comfortable tomorrow and hopefully ready for the scrimmage on Friday. Then we'll see who starts on Saturday's game." 

"That'll make Gus happy," Brian said smiling at Justin. 

"I know," Justin replied. 

Grabbing Brian by the hand, Justin said, "Let's go outside. I'm starving." 

Nodding at the coaches, Brian said, "Hey, thanks a lot for the information."

"No problem," they both said. 

Outside, the sun was starting to set. It was almost eight o'clock and everyone was hungry after the practice. The kids were all lined up by the barbeque, waiting for their burgers and steaks. Some parents were seated at tables while others were helping with the food preparations. Brian and Justin grabbed their plates off the buffet table and headed over to the grills. As they were waiting for their steaks to be done, Brian noticed that a group of women were watching him and Justin. There were three of them standing around a table, drinks in hand, talking with Lisa Ryan. Finally their food was ready and after stopping at the buffet table again to get salad and rolls, they made their way over to a group of people that included Austin's parents, Mike and Brandy Lehigh.

Everyone stopped talking at once and looked up at them. Finally Mike broke the silence.

"Hey Brian, Justin. Come join us," he said in his booming voice. 

"Everybody, this is Brian Kinney and Justin Taylor. They're Gus' dads." 

"Nice to meet you," Justin said to everyone. 

"I thought Gus' last name was Peterson?" one of the ladies at the table asked. Everyone stopped eating at once, waiting to hear the answer. 

"It's complicated," Brian replied. 

"Oh," the woman answered, not knowing what else to say. The silence was uncomfortable. 

"Brian," Mike said. "Looks like Gus might make it as quarterback. What do you think of that?" 

"I think it's great," Brian said. "He loves that position." 

"Yeah," Mike replied. "And of course Austin is happy because he gets to catch the ball from his best friend, that's pretty neat, huh?" 

"Neat," Brian said. 

_What the fuck am I doing here in Breeder Central_ , Brian thought to himself. _I feel like I've overdosed on some really bad drugs and didn't even have fun doing it. I need to get out of here before I do something really dumb!_

Justin could tell by Brian's body language that he was uncomfortable and wanted to get away from these people. He knew he was making an effort for Gus but it was really putting a strain on him. All he wanted to do was eat his dinner and go home. Away from the prying eyes of people who were looking at them as if they were 'freaks on parade'. 

Brian stood up abruptly and said he had to go to the restroom. On his way there he was stopped by Lisa Ryan who introduced him to the other three ladies at her table. 

"Brian," Lisa said, "I want you to meet my friends. They're all named Lisa, too. We're known as the four Lisa's." 

"Wow, that's confusing as hell for someone just meeting you," Brian said with a smirk. 

"Well, it is what it is," the little blond one said. I'm Lisa Smith." 

"Nice to meet you," Brian answered. 

"And I'm the Lisa married to Coach Andrews," the second blonde said. She looked like a younger version of Lindsay Peterson. 

"Hi," Brian said. 

"And last, but not least, Brian, this is Lisa O'Riley." 

Brian recognized her as the lady who kept interrupting the coaches with all her questions. She was a beautiful redhead, tall with fair skin and light blue eyes. She stood there staring at him, radiating signals that were all too familiar. He knew instantly that this woman was going to be trouble. 

She had that look that said, 'you're not really gay, you just haven't met the right woman yet'. Brian had come across that a few times in his life, never with a good ending. _Christ, she better not be a coach's wife or I'm fucked!_

"Are you a coach's wife too?" Brian asked, afraid to hear the answer. 

"No," she replied. "My son is Kevin. He's trying out for middle linebacker." 

"Oh," Brian answered, relieved. 

"Well ladies, it's nice to meet all of you, but I really have to go. I'll see you later." 

He made his way into the house and asked one of the other guests where the restroom was. 

"Upstairs," was the answer they gave him. 

Taking the stairs two at a time, he made his way down the hall to the bathroom to relieve himself of the many beers in his system. 

Just as he was finishing, he heard the door open. He quickly zipped up his pants and turned around to see who it was. 

Lisa O'Riley had stepped into the bathroom and was leaning on the door, staring at him. 

"What are you doing here?" Brian asked. 

"Nothing," Lisa said. "I just wanted to make sure you'd found the restroom, and I see that you have." 

"Yeah, I found it alright. Now, let's go back and join the others," Brian said heading for the door and trying to reach the handle without touching her. 

"What's the hurry, Brian? Are you afraid to be in this room, alone with me?" 

"No," Brian said. "I just think we should get going." 

He was angry that this was happening and was making every effort to control his temper, but she was blocking the door and he really couldn't reach the handle without having to move her out of the way. This meant touching her, the last thing he wanted to do at this point. He didn't feel like playing these games tonight. He could tell she was drunk and probably responding to a dare by one of the other Lisa's.

"Come on, Lisa, move away from the door." 

"I don't believe anything they've told me about you," she said, looking him in the eye. 

"Like what," he asked. 

"That you're gay and in a relationship with that guy you were sitting with at the table. You're much too sexy and manly to be a homosexual." 

"Yeah, well, believe it. I am." 

"Oh, come on Brian," she said, looking at him like a spider about to eat a fly. "You probably just need to be with a real woman. When was the last time you saw a pair of these?" 

She yanked her t-shirt off and proudly showed Brian her five- thousand dollar boob job. 

"Aren't they beautiful? You can touch them if you want. They feel exactly like normal breasts. You'd never know they were implants, if I hadn't told you." 

_Shit_ , Brian thought, _they look like two plastic balloons sitting on a table._

"Lisa, I don't want to insult or upset you," Brian said. "You've had too much to drink. I think you should put your t-shirt back on and we'll head outside and pretend this never happened." 

"Not until you kiss me first," she said in her most provocative voice. Lisa was a beautiful woman and had never been turned down by any man she had decided to have. Brian's non-interest was only making him a bigger challenge and much more exciting. She wasn't about to give up on him without a fight. 

Brian stepped away from her, all patience gone and just snapped. "I will not kiss you. I'm not interested, Lisa, now, open the fucking door and let's get out of here." 

"You're being so mean," she said coyly, moving closer to him and reaching out to grab his arm. 

"Lisa, let go of my arm," Brian told her, pulling his arm away. "You're beautiful and your store bought tits are first class, however, there is one thing you don't have which I really prefer as my primary source of entertainment." 

"Really," she purred, moving in closer. "Tell me what you like Brian, I can be very accommodating." 

"Listen to me, Lisa," Brian said, getting as close to her face as he dared. "Are you listening?" 

"Yes, Brian," she sighed looking up at him expectantly. 

"The something you don't have is what you'll never have. It's called a cock, Lisa. Also known as a prick, a one-eyed monster, flesh rocket, a dick, snake-in-the-grass, tube-steak, a woody; I could go on for hours here, but did you get all that? You-don't-have-it!" 

Brian could see the confusion in Lisa's eyes slowly changing to anger. However, he too was enraged at being put in this position, and right now, oblivious to any of the consequences of his actions. 

"You can't buy it, or hope that it'll appear by magic. You either got it or you don't. And what I love to do with dick is have it in my mouth or up my ass. I love to fuck the living shit out of my partner, who has the most beautiful dick, by the way, and I will not, now or ever, sleep with you or anyone else, if they don't have one. Is that clear enough for you?" 

Lisa sucked in her breath, shocked beyond words. She raised her hand preparing to slap him but he caught her arm and said, "You don't want to do that." 

Glaring at him with tears in her eyes, she turned, grabbed her t-shirt and stormed out of the room. 

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

  
**Hell Week,Chapter 8**  
Rated: R

Justin looked up as Brian headed towards their table. He could tell that Brian was upset, he just wasn’t sure why.

“Hey Mike,” Brian asked, “Do you think you could give Gus a ride home tonight?”

“Sure Brian, you’re not leaving yet, are you?”

“Yeah, Justin and I need to get going so if you don’t mind bringing Gus home, I’d appreciate it.”

“No problem,” he said.

Brian grabbed Justin by the hand and pulled him up from the chair.

“Come on”.

In the car, Brian lit a cigarette and drove silently.

“Okay,” Justin said. “Are you going to tell me what happened or do we have to play twenty-one questions?”

“Nothing happened.”

“Bullshit! Come on Brian, what the fuck happened back there?”

“That fucking whore of a woman trapped me in the bathroom and hit on me.”

“Which woman?” Justin asked, surprised.

“One of those fucking Lisa creatures.”

“Huh?”

“Christ, Sunshine! Don’t you pay attention to anything?”

“Not to women,” Justin replied sarcastically.

“Well, one of those friends of Lisa Ryan hit on me in the bathroom, you know, the usual, ‘you’re not really gay bullshit’ and she pissed me off.”

“Great,” Justin said. “What exactly did you say to her, Brian?”

“I told her I liked dick and she didn’t have one.”

“How diplomatic of you.”

“I told you this was a mistake, Justin. We should never have come here.”

“Brian, I think you’re overreacting a little. So, she hit on you, so what? This happens all the time, in the straight and queer world, you know that.”

“Yeah, but in our world, whatever I do or say doesn’t affect my son! In this fucking alternate universe, it does. Who knows what the fuck she’s going to tell her friends?”

“Look, she’s probably just as upset as you are. She’s angry because she got drunk and did something stupid. I’m sure she won’t even remember what you told her, once she sobers up.”

“I doubt it.”

“That bad, huh?”

‘U’huh.”

“Okay, well you’ll just have to apologize the next time you see her. Who is she anyway?”

“Fuck no, I will not apologize!”

“Who is she, Brian?”

‘I don’t know! Some friend of Lisa’s. Her name is Lisa too, along with everyone else’s in Rosedale. Her son is trying out for the middle linebacker spot.”

“So, she’s not a coach’s wife or related to any of Gus’ friends?”

“No.”

“Well, that’s one good thing,” Justin said.

They pulled into the garage and made their way into the house. Brian went straight to the bar in the living room, scrounging for something stronger than the ‘girlie’ drinks Mel and Lindsay liked. He spotted a bottle of Tequila Gold tucked away in the back of the supplies and grabbed it.

“Sunshine, see if you can find some limes in this house and a couple of shot glasses. I need some comfort food.”

Rolling his eyes, Justin went to the kitchen and found a lime and a couple of lemons in the crisper. He put the lime on the wooden block and sliced it. He threw in a lemon, in case they needed more and lined them up on a plate. Grabbing the salt shaker and the two shot glasses, he headed back out to the living room.

“Brian, let’s not get all fucked up, okay? We have to be up at a decent time tomorrow.”

“What for?”

“We’re going to take Gus downtown, to get those jeans he was looking at in the magazine, remember? You told him he could get a new outfit for the dance Saturday.”

“Oh, right. Okay, then I’ll just drink half the bottle instead of the whole thing.”

Nuzzling up to him, Justin took the bottle out of Brian’s hand and put it on the coffee table. He straddled him and pushed Brian’s head back on the sofa.

“You won’t need any of that,” Justin whispered in his ear.

“Why not?” Brian answered, loving the feel of Justin’s face on his.

“You won’t need it because what I’m going to do to you is guaranteed to provide you with all the comfort you need,” Justin said, kissing Brian’s neck, moving his lips down to his collar bone, then moving back up to his ear where he whispered, “This is an art, a legacy that has been passed down by the greatest queers in history, from the early days of the Roman Baths to the back room at Babylon. A secret known only to the best and the most desirable.”

“Show me Sunshine.” Brian said with a hitch in his voice as he watched Justin slowly undo his belt buckle and slide the zipper down.

“Hail Caesar,” Brian said, unable to take his eyes off the beautiful man in front of him.

Justin bent down and took Brian into his mouth, alternately sucking and licking, showing off all the skills he had learned at the hand of the master; the one he was servicing right now. The end result was always the pleasure of hearing Brian’s guttural moan as he rushed into his mouth. Justin moved up to kiss him, sharing his essence with him and feeling himself coming as Brian’s tongue licked at every corner of his mouth.

“You made me come all over myself,” Justin sighed, “Like a fucking teenager.”

“I know, Sunshine, I always bring out the best in you, don’t I?”

“Never fails.”

“And you love me for it,” he said playfully.

“God, yes,” Justin answered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They spent the better part of the next morning shopping at the Eaton Center on Yonge Street looking for a suitable outfit for Gus to wear to the dance on Saturday.

“Dad, I want this jacket to go with the pants and top you picked out,” Gus said, holding up a Hugo Boss leather jacket which was a replica of the one Brian had on.

“I think that’s a little too mature for you Gus, as well as being a bit too pricey.”

“Please, Dad, you said I could get something nice?”

“The pants and shirt are all you need. Throw in a pair of boots if you like but I think we’re going to pass on the jacket.”

“’D’, don’t you think this looks nice with the pants and shirt?”

Justin looked at Gus and had to acknowledge that the whole outfit was perfect the way he had it.

“It’s nice, Gus, except it makes you look a lot older than fourteen.”

“Well, I’ll be fifteen in a few months, so who cares?”

“I do,” Brian said. “You already look older than a lot of the kids out there. Let’s not make it worse with this outfit. You’ll have all the mother’s worrying about their precious daughters if you walk in looking like that.”

“Really? You think Ashley will think it’s hot?”

_Shit! Who’s Ashley?_

“Whatever Gus. You’ve got plenty of time to wear clothes like that.  
I just don’t think you should start on Saturday. The squeelies circle around you enough as it is, we don’t want a stampede at the party.”

“Come on, Dad,” Gus said laughing. “I don’t look that good!”

“You look just like me, son. Trust me; I know what I’m talking about.”

Reluctantly, Gus put the jacket back on the hanger and waited for Brian to pay the bill.

In the car, Brian looked at Gus in the rear view mirror. He took a deep breath and asked, “Gus, have your mothers spoken to you about sex and birth control?”

Justin almost choked on the soda he had just taken a sip out of.  
“Jesus, Brian, do you think this is the right time or place to talk about this?”

“Why not? We just had a conversation about looking hot and women being on him like bees on honey; I think this is the perfect time to talk about this.”

“So, Gus, have they?” Brian asked again, without taking his eyes off Gus in the rear view mirror.

In the back seat, Gus had turned beet red, an obvious sign of his discomfort.

“Dad, we don’t need to talk about any of this,” he said.

“Yes, we do. I want to make sure you’re safe and know what the hell you’re doing, since obviously, Mom and Mama have not bothered to talk to you about this.”

“’Daddy J’, will you make him stop,” Gus said in a panic, “I really don’t want to discuss this.”

Turning around in his seat, Justin reached across and put his hand on Gus’ arm.

“Gus, it’s okay. We’re not interrogating you. We just want to make sure that you know how to keep yourself safe from getting any kind of sexually transmitted disease or from getting your partner pregnant. The last thing you need to worry about is that.”

“Pregnant! I’m not even having sex yet,” Gus said to them, “I mean, not real sex.”

“And that would mean, what exactly?” Brian asked.

“Nothing. I don’t want to talk about it,” Gus answered, realizing he’d already said too much.

Brian rolled his eyes and said, “Okay, listen up Mr. Clinton. Oral sex does constitute real sex, whether you want to admit it or not. You can also get a sexually transmitted disease that way, if your partner happens to have a cold sore or any other nasty thing going on in her body. Just because you don’t stick your dick in anyone does not mean you are not having sex!”

“Dad!” Gus exclaimed.

“Brian!” Justin yelled.

“Hey! Both of you calm down. I’m just telling you like it is. If this conversation is premature, I’m glad. You’re too young to be having sex anyhow. If you’ve already started, then it’s a good thing we’re having this discussion. Whatever the case is, as soon as we get home, Gus, you and I are going into the bedroom for a demonstration on the use of condoms, understand?”

“Yeah, I understand,” Gus said begrudgingly.

“Jesus, Brian,” Justin muttered to himself.

The ringing of Brian’s phone interrupted whatever else was about to be said.

“Lindsay,” Brian said, “How’s Nancy doing?”

“That’s good news. So you think you’ll be back by Sunday, as planned?”

“Good, no everything here is great,” he said. “They picked Gus to play quarterback, so he’s happy. Yeah, here, I’ll pass the phone to him, you can tell him yourself.”

Handing Gus the phone, Brian looked over to Justin and said, they’ll be back Sunday night, which means we can leave early Monday.”

“Okay,” Justin replied. “So long as we can stay for the game and the dance on Saturday,”

“Oh yeah,” Brian answered, “We’ll be here for that.”

TBC  



	9. Chapter 9

**Hell Week, Chapter 9**  
Rated: NC 17

It was Thursday of Hell Week. Brian and Justin sat in their lawn chairs watching as the kids did their stretching exercises.

After the conversation in the car this morning, Brian and Gus had emerged from the bedroom with big smiles on their faces and a sense of accomplishment for a job well done.

Brian handed Justin the cucumbers he had taken into the room for the ‘demo’ and said, “Here, you can retire these guys. They’re beat.”

Gus laughed when he heard that and said, “You guys are crazy-I can’t even imagine what you were like as teenagers.”

Brian looked at his son, all innocent and said, “I was a perfect child. Now ‘Daddy J’ over here was nothing but trouble. He drove Grandma Jennifer nuts, isn’t that right, Sunshine?”

Justin gave Brian his mega-watt smile. “Any trouble I’ve ever gotten into involved one Brian Kinney, and you know that, mister.”

The atmosphere between the three of them was easy going and relaxed. None of the usual tension between fathers and sons was evident anywhere. They were all comfortable with each other and who they were.

It was such a huge difference from anything Brian had ever known as a young boy growing up. The tension in his house was always palpable, varying in degrees in direct proportion to Jack Kinney’s state of inebriation. A conversation about sex and condoms would never have happened at any time, and never did. Whatever Brian learned had come from self-exploration or from Debbie Novotny.

He didn’t want that for Gus. He didn’t want him to ever have to wonder what the right thing to do was, or ever doubt that he could come to either him or Justin with a question or a problem. Once he had acknowledged that Gus was straight, he decided that he would teach him as much as he could, with every bit of information that he had, and hoped that he would grow up to be the best person he could ever be.  
So far, Gus had never questioned him on anything, taking him at his word and trusting him implicitly. Brian hoped that would never change.

The coach’s whistle brought Brian back to the present and he sat up and listened.

“Okay boys. Today we’re going to do a seven-on-seven. It’s a practice drill where seven members of the offense will play against seven members of the defense. Only helmets will be worn, no pads. This means no hitting allowed and the quarterback is not to be tackled or brought down in any way. He’ll be wearing a red practice jersey so you can distinguish him from the rest of the group. Instead of tackling, you will touch him on the shoulder, this goes for any other player. Once a player has been tagged everything stops and we’ll line up again for the next play. It that clear?”

The boys all nodded in agreement.

“Okay,” Coach Barton said. On offense I’m going to need a quarterback, a runningback, three wide receivers, a tight end and a center. So, let’s have Peterson, Gentry, Lehigh, Johnson, the Ryback twins and Savio.”

“On defense, I’ll need two defensive backs, two safeties and three linebackers. I want, Weyer and Andrews, Barton, Novack, O’Riley, Cook and Slater.”

Brian continued to watch and listen as the boys got into formation for the practice drill. Gus seemed relaxed and was throwing the ball with an accuracy that surprised Brian. Several passes had been completed and the boys seemed to be getting more comfortable with each other and enjoying themselves out there. Justin was sketching, as usual, glancing up occasionally to watch what was going on, not really knowing what should or shouldn’t be happening. Just interested because his son was out there.

Suddenly a whistle was blown, a flag was on the field and Gus was on the ground. Brian stood up immediately and moved forward. He saw what had happened; he just couldn’t believe what he saw. The two coaches were huddled around Gus.

“O’Riley! You weren’t supposed to touch him; didn’t we tell you that from the beginning?” Coach Barton said looking at Kevin.

“Sorry, Coach, I forgot. He’s going to be okay, isn’t he?” Kevin O’Riley asked innocently.

“Gus,” Coach asked. “You alright?”

Gus lay on the ground, trying to catch his breath. He thought he was okay, physically. Nothing felt broken; he was just winded from being knocked down by Kevin. What he didn’t understand was what Kevin said to him under his breath, just before the hit. He’d called him a ‘fucking pussy’. What was that all about?

Sitting up, Gus looked Kevin in the eye and said, “I’m fine, Coach.”

“Okay, boys, line up again. The next one who hits the quarterback or anyone else for that matter, is benched! You can’t be knocking out your own teammates before the actual games have even started, for Christ’s sake! Got that?”

“Yes, sir,” they all yelled out in unison.

Brian slowly sat back down in his chair, disturbed by what he saw. He hoped that this had been a random thing, but somehow, he doubted it. Justin looked over at Brian and knew instantly that something wasn’t right.

“What’s wrong, Brian?”

Brian continued to watch silently, saying nothing.

“Brian?”

“Its okay, Justin. I’m just worried about Gus. He seems fine; I just hope that hit didn’t hurt him in any way.”

Justin was oblivious to what had actually happened out there. All he saw were kids running around and Gus looked fine from where he sat.

“I’m sure he’s okay, Brian, they wouldn’t let him stay in there if he weren’t.”

“Right.”

The team had lined up again, getting ready for the next play. It was easy to spot Gus because he was the only one with the red jersey. Everything went off without a hitch, he threw a pass which was caught by Austin who ran it for the touchdown.

The group was getting ready for their final play. Just before they got ready to start, a whistle was blown. This time Austin was the culprit.

Brian tried to see what the penalty was for but was too far away to be able to tell. Whatever the reason was, Coach Barton was reaming the kid a new asshole. He had the boys break up and the next set of kids got ready for their seven-on-seven.

Gus and Austin were on the side lines, talking and watching the new group run through their practice. Brian couldn’t wait to hear what had just happened. Finally after what seemed like hours, the practice was over and the boys were allowed to go.

Gus walked towards Brian and Justin. He and Austin were deep in conversation, and some of the other boys, Cook and the Ryder twins, joined up and they all stood around, several feet away from Brian, discussing what had just happened. All the while they were talking, Kevin O’Riley was on the opposite side of the field, by himself, watching them.

“Hey Guys,” Brian said to them, walking up to Gus and handing him his Gatorade.

“Hi Mr. Kinney,” the boys said in unison.

“So what just happened out there? How come you got penalized, Austin? I didn’t really see what happened?”

“It was nothing, sir.”

“Well, it couldn’t have been nothing if the Coach got pissed.”

“Kevin said something and Austin shoved him,” one of the Ryback twins said.

Gus and Austin glared at him for even opening his mouth.

“What’d he say?”

“Nothing Dad, it’s not important. It’s over. Did you see the pass I threw, the one that Austin caught?”

“Yeah, it was really nice. Hopefully you’ll be able to do it over and over tomorrow during the scrimmage.”

“That would be awesome,” Austin said.

“Come on, let’s go,” Brian said.

Austin was riding home with them tonight because both his parents had to work and so it was decided earlier in the day that he would have dinner with Gus and his parents would pick him up around nine- thirty when they got off.

Brian was silent all the way home. He kept thinking about what had happened at practice and couldn’t believe that Lisa O’Riley would say anything to her son, Kevin, about their little ‘incident’. The whole scene would have put her in a bad light, so why the fuck would she even mention it to him? Unless of course Kevin overheard a phone conversation between her and one of the other fucking Lisa’s.

When they got home, Austin and Gus went to the family room to watch TV and Brian and Justin headed for the kitchen to try and scrounge up some dinner.

“Brian, you were awfully quiet in the car, is anything wrong?” Justin asked.

“No, I’m just concerned about what happened today.”

“Gus is fine, Brian, he wasn’t hurt at all,” Justin said.

Brian explained to Justin what had just happened out on the field.

Justin was surprised when he heard what Brian had to say. “But he’s fine Brian. Nothing happened to him.”

“This time Gus is fine but I don’t want there to be a next time. I can’t believe that Kevin knows what happened the other night. Fuck! I should have just walked out of that bathroom without saying a word. At least she would have had some of her pride left. Instead I fucking ran over her with my forked tongue and devastated her, good job Kinney!”

“Come on, Brian, stop beating yourself up over this. It’s not your fault that you’re the hottest fucking Dad out there and everyone wants your body,” Justin teased, trying to lighten the mood.

Brian looked at Justin sadly. “It’s not funny Sunshine. I really hope this will all blow over by tomorrow, I would hate like hell for Gus’ first experience at football to be ruined by something I did, or in this case, didn’t do.”

“I’m sure, everything will work itself out. Kevin probably overheard snippets of a conversation and decided to have his own personal vendetta. Now that it’s out of his system, it’s over. You’ll see, tomorrow will be better,” Justin said, handing Brian a beer and getting back to making their salad.

“Is that all we’re having for dinner? The boys need more than that, they’re probably starving.”

“I called for a Pizza delivery, just before we left the field. It should be here any minute. This is just our side dish.”

“Good, I’m kinda hungry myself. I think I’ll stuff my face with some greasy pepperoni and then at least the heartburn will take my mind off all this bullshit.”

He took a swig of his beer and headed back towards the family room to join Gus and Austin. Just outside the entrance of the room he heard Gus say, “You shouldn’t have pushed him, Austin. You could have gotten into a lot of trouble for that.”

Brian stopped moving, listening to every word of the conversation.

“Fuck that.” Austin said. “He can’t go around saying shit like that about your Dad; that was bullshit.”

“Look,” Gus said, “All he said was that I wouldn’t know the first thing about standing in a straight line.”

“Yeah! And you know what that implied!”

“Austin, I’m not sure what Kevin’s problem is, but I need to handle this by myself okay?”

“Fine,” Austin said begrudgingly. “He just pushed the wrong button.”

Gus reached over and tapped Austin’s arm. “Hey, its okay, I can handle it, but thanks for the help.”

“We’re best friends Gus, no one talks shit about you around me.”

Brian turned around and headed back towards the kitchen. _“Fuck, fuck, fuck!”_

“Justin, forget the pizza. I need a Scotch, straight up, in a very large glass.”

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

**Hell Week, Chapter 10**  
Rating: NC 17

It was Friday afternoon and the scrimmage was about to start. This would be the last chance for the team to practice and get ready for tomorrow’s game. Today, they would be playing against each other, tomorrow they would be playing against the kids from Browne High School.

Gus was going to start as quarterback, and Brian and Justin were like any of the other parents present. Excited and anxious for their kid.

Justin had convinced Brian not to say anything to Gus last night, especially since he had consumed enormous amounts of liquor. In his drunken state, he was prepared to go to battle with the devil himself. Fortunately, Gus and Austin were so wrapped up playing their video game that neither had noticed that Brian wasn’t around. He had spent the rest of the evening in Melanie’s home office; downing one drink after another while Justin kept an eye on him to make sure he didn’t do anything stupid.

This morning, Brian dry swallowed three aspirin and then staggered into the kitchen to forage for some coffee. Two very strong cups later, he started feeling a little more human.

“I will personally go down there and kick his ass if he tries anything today, so help me Sunshine, he better not!”

“Brian, you’ve got to calm down over this,” Justin said. He was really worried about Brian. He’d never seen him react to anything this way; he was always so cool and controlled, able to talk his way out of any jam his big mouth had ever gotten him into.

Unfortunately, he was completely out of his element right now, a veritable fish-out-of-water. He wanted to protect Gus and make everything right, but he knew that he couldn’t. This was something that Gus had to deal with on his own and the fact that he, Brian, had caused the problem was making him sick.

Gus seemed in fine form today, throwing passes accurately and doing everything he was supposed to. The cheerleaders were chanting their usual, “Rosedale Bobcats” cheers, inviting the parents to join in and help with the noise levels.

Brian’s headache had returned, blooming in direct proportion to the chanting. Somehow his heartbeat seemed to be synchronized to the thumping of people’s feet on the bleachers, the vein in his forehead pumping in unison with the cheers. _Maybe I’ll get lucky and just stroke out right here_ , he thought to himself.

He looked around and saw that Lisa O’Riley was sitting on the opposite side of the bleachers with her constant companions, the three Lisa’s. They were all sitting on a blanket, dressed in their shortest shorts, perky store-bought boobs straining against their tight t-shirts.

He couldn’t get over the way these women were dressed. Somehow in his head, Mom’s weren’t supposed to look like that. They were all supposed to dress like Mel and Linds, like normal people. Then again, he realized Mel and Linds weren’t normal; they were two extraordinary women who were raising two great kids. He had never really appreciated what they had done for him, until this week. Being in this environment only brought home the truth that Mel and Linds had taken a bullet for him all these years by raising Gus with very little help from him and Justin. Hell, he’d only been in town for five days and already fucked up!

Justin reached over and touched him on his leg, “Hey, is the headache back?”

“In living color!”

“I’ll go get you something to drink, then you can take some more pain pills, okay?”

“That’d be great. A Bloody Mary sounds real good right about now.”

Justin gave him one of his ‘that is so not funny’ looks and stood up to get him some water.

At the snack bar, Justin stood in line waiting his turn. He kept thinking about the whole sequence of events that had lead up to this moment and couldn’t believe that the ‘incident’ at the Gentry party had turned this whole week around for Brian and was making him so miserable. If they had been in Pittsburgh none of this would have happened because they would have both known how to deal with it. Here, they felt like they were walking on eggs, trying not to break anything.

Unfortunately, he felt the storm had started long before the Gentry party. It had started the day they walked on the field with Gus, announcing to the whole world who they were and why they were here.

Justin had reached the end of the line and asked for two bottles of water and a tray of Cheese Fries. May as well drown our sorrows in food, he thought. As he was handed the tray of fries, he inadvertently backed up and almost tripped over the man right behind him. The guy caught his arm to steady him and asked if he was okay.

Justin looked up and saw a very tall, very large man with dark brown eyes and a full head of jet black hair.

“I’m fine,” Justin said. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to back into you like that.”

“It’s okay, no harm done. My name is Joe, Joe O’Riley,” he said. “My son Kevin is on the team, middle linebacker.”

“Oh,” Justin said. _Oh, fuck_ , was what he thought.

“Justin Taylor, nice to meet you.”

“Does your kid play on the team?” Joe asked. He seemed like a really nice guy, friendly and unpretentious.

“Yeah, he’s the quarterback, Gus.”

“Hey, that kid’s got a great arm! Today’s my first day out here. I’ve been away on business and my ex had Kevin while I was gone. This is the first time I’m actually seeing any of the kids play. They look pretty good out there considering most of them have never played before.”

“This is Gus’ first time,” Justin said.

“No kidding? Looks like a natural to me. My son Kevin played Pee Wee football for a couple years so he’s not that new at this.”

“So, does Kevin live with you?” Justin asked, curious.

“Yeah,” Joe replied.

Interesting, Justin thought to himself.

“Why don’t you come join us?” Justin asked. “My partner and I have some pretty good seats; you can come and watch the game from over there.”

“No, that’s okay. I’m fine where I’m at, but listen, it was nice meeting you and I’m sure we’ll talk again after the game is over.”

“Right,” Justin said.

Back at the bleachers, Justin handed Brian his bottle of water and two aspirin. He offered to share some of the fries but Brian declined. Justin was thinking about the conversation he had just had with Joe O’Riley and wondered what would lead a judge to award custody to a father. He noticed that Joe sat far away from the group of Lisa’s.

The game had already started and Brian was watching intently. It was amazing that just five days ago half of the kids down on the field had never played football before. Today, they looked like real football players, with their full gear on, running the right plays and generally having a pretty decent game. Gus seemed relaxed and was having a good day. He had thrown several passes that were caught by Austin and then, Gentry. Even Johnson had caught one and ran it for the touchdown. Everyone was pumped up and energized.

Nothing untoward had happened so far. Kevin seemed to have learned his lesson and stayed far away from Gus. The next play was about to start. The coach had gone out on the field to join the huddle and as he made his way back to the sidelines, Brian leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees.

“He’s called an Option play”.

“What’s that?” Justin asked.

“It’s also called a Veer Option Right, it’s a really good play but a bit risky. They don’t let them do this in the NFL, only high school and college games.”

“Why’s that?” Justin asked, his mouth full of fries.

“Too many injuries. The quarterback could get really jacked up if things go wrong,” Brian said, his voice getting quieter and showing a bit more concern.

“I’m sure the coaches know what they’re doing, Brian. If it were that risky they wouldn’t let these kids do it.”

“It’s a really good play though, and it’s best to do it with a quarterback who’s really versatile, someone who can throw and run with the ball if need be. Someone like Gus, who can pretty much do it all.”

As Brian was explaining, the play started. Gus took the snap from the center. He ran down the line, behind the guard and the tackle, the right half back trailing behind him. At this point he was watching his key, the defensive end, waiting to see whether he should take the option pitch or keep it and run with the ball. Kevin was watching Gus the whole time, scraping down the line, waiting to see what he decided. The defensive end took the option back, thus taking away the pitch. Gus saw this and decided to turn it up field and go for some positive yardage. At that point, Kevin read the play. His eyes got as big as two silver dollars, and seeing his chance, he headed out for Gus. Both Gus and Kevin were running parallel to each other, Gus depending on his tight end, Billy Ryback, to stop the linebacker. Unfortunately, Billy missed Kevin, and just before Gus got to the goal line, Kevin tackled him by ramming his helmet straight into Gus’ left side, catching him in the rib cage. Gus was on the ground, flags were thrown, whistles were blowing and the paramedic was racing out to the field.

Brian and Justin both stood up and ran down the bleachers to stand on the side lines.

“Can I go out there?” Brian asked one of the coaches. “That’s my kid on the ground.”

“Go ahead,” Coach Barton said.

Brian sprinted up the field and got there just in time to hear the paramedic say, “He may have cracked a rib, we’ll need to take him to the emergency room for some x-rays. You better get your alternate player coach, this kid is done for today.”

“No,” Gus said, trying to sit up, wincing in pain.

“Gus,” Brian said, bending down and kneeling beside him. “We just need to make sure nothing is broken, okay? We’ll go to the hospital and have them take some x-rays. This way we’ll know for sure and if all’s good you’ll be back here tomorrow, right coach?”

“Right. Gus, it’s just a precaution. I want to make sure you’ll be okay for tomorrow’s game. You did great today Gus, outstanding! And you would have made the touchdown just now if Ryback had gotten to O’Riley, before he got to you.”

Gus grinned, “That’s tight, Coach. I want to try this play again, and, Ryback,” Gus said looking at Billy, “next time you won’t miss the tackle, right?”

“Shit, Gus, I’m really sorry,” Billy said.

“Okay son,” the Paramedic said. “We need to get you on the stretcher and get you over to the emergency room. Which one of you is the father?”

“I am,” Brian said.

“Okay, you can ride in the ambulance, everyone else stays here.”

As they made their way across the field, Gus on the stretcher, Brian walking beside him, they could hear the cheerleaders chanting, “We are the Bobcats, the mighty, mighty, Bobcats…”

TBC

Acknowledgments: Thanks to my husband and one of my sons for all their help with the football plays and verbiage. Since one has coached and the other played, I couldn’t think of a better source.  



	11. Chapter 11

****  
Justin watched as the ambulance drove off with Gus and Brian in it. After talking to Gus to make sure he was alright, Justin decided to stay behind, collect his gear, and then head out to the hospital.

On the way to the car he was stopped by many of the parents who asked about Gus and wished him a speedy recovery. Everyone hoped that his injuries were minor so that he could come back the next day and play in the game against Browne. Justin hoped that would happen as well.

As he approached his car he heard loud voices coming from behind the shed where the equipment was stored. Moving in the direction of the noise, he stopped when he saw who it was.

“What the fuck have you been telling Kevin, Lisa?”

“Nothing! I didn’t tell him anything, Joe, why would you think that?”

“Because he’s not acting himself. I’ve left him with you for four days and already he’s back to being mouthy and belligerent. When I asked him why he had to go hit that kid so hard he looked at me and laughed. Called him a queer!”

“Well,” Lisa said, “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

“What the fuck does that mean?”

“His father’s a big fairy, Joe, so the kid is probably one too.”

“I can’t believe I’m hearing this shit, Lisa. First of all, being gay is not hereditary or contagious, and secondly, whether the kid is or isn’t gay shouldn’t matter. He’s got a good arm and has the potential to be a really good player.”

“Well, what about your son, don’t you think he’s a good player too?”

“He’s great Lisa, but he’s a linebacker. That’s his spot. He’ll never be the quarterback you want him to be, just because you think it’s a more important position. It’s not; all the positions are important, one no more than the other, and you should stop putting ideas in Kevin’s head. Whether Peterson comes back or not, Kevin will never take his spot. He doesn’t have the talent for that position. He’s much better where he’s at and the sooner you accept that and stop poisoning his mind, the sooner he’ll start acting like a normal kid.”

“I am not poisoning his mind, Joe,” Lisa said, her voice starting to rise even more.

“Lisa, you know you are. He hears you say shit about other people when you’re angry and it sticks in his head.”

“I am not angry,” Lisa screamed at Joe.

“Really,” he replied. “Listen to yourself. You’re out of control again.”

Lisa lifted her arm and took a swing at Joe, hitting him on his shoulder. Justin watched as her entire demeanor changed from pretty suburban mom into some wild woman. She was lashing out at this giant of a man who patiently held her away from him, trying to protect himself, yet at the same time trying to make her see reason.

“Lisa, stop,” Joe said, holding her now as she started crying and hitting him at the same time.

Justin couldn’t take his eyes off the scene in front of him. He wanted to just walk away, knowing he was watching something private and painful; he just couldn’t move. Lisa had completely lost it, crying and muttering curses all the while Joe was holding on to her with the saddest expression in his eyes.

Justin now understood why Kevin lived with his father and not his mother. The woman obviously had issues, none of which were good for her son or anyone else around her.

He quickly moved back in the direction of the car and when he got there, threw his stuff in the trunk and headed out to the hospital.

All the way to the hospital he thought about what he had just witnessed. Christ! Of all the women at that party, why did she have to hit on Brian? I’m sure that since the night of Brian’s rejection, Lisa has been stewing, adding one more thing to her reasons for not liking Gus.  
This really had nothing to do with Brian at all. For once, he just happened to be at the wrong place, at the wrong time. Unfortunately, Lisa probably wouldn’t see it that way. Even if Brian had not been gay and had taken her up on her offer, she would have somehow turned it around, adding fuel to the fire.

The fact that Brian had rejected and humiliated her in no uncertain terms worked perfectly into her twisted mind, enabling her to rationalize whatever fucked up statements she made aloud so that Kevin would hear.

Justin knew that many parents had unreasonable expectations for their children. He had heard that in the world of sports it was carried to the extreme.

Most parents viewed their child as special and unique, better than best. And in many ways, children deserved to have this kind of love from their mother and father, knowing that in their eyes they were extraordinary and able to achieve great things. However, most parents were realistic too and did see their child for what they truly were. It was only a handful that deluded themselves into thinking they had the next ‘Michael Jordan’ or ‘Tiger Woods’. These were the ones who could create havoc with their kids psyche as well as the parents, coaches and friends around them. Many a famous athlete had falling outs with overbearing parents or mentors who expected too much.

Obviously, Lisa Ryan was one of those mothers who thought her child was better than he actually was. Not to say that Kevin was a bad athlete, he wasn’t. He was very good as a linebacker, a tough position even for the best of them. But he didn’t have the height, the arm or the eye that Gus had. All qualities necessary to be a good quarterback, which, in many people’s eyes, was the most important position in football. Also, the most prestigious.

Joe continued to hold Lisa, trying his best to calm her down. He knew from past experience that it was a difficult and long process. Her anger issues seemed to be escalating rather than dissipating. He could sense that she resented his presence here at the game and felt justified in whatever she had been telling her son.

Lisa seemed to be projecting her insecurities onto Kevin, hoping that as the mother of the ‘star’ her position in society would be re-established. Right now, she was a single mother without the custody of her only child, subjected to people’s questions regarding this arrangement. It was hard to deal with all that since most of the women around her had known the O’Rileys since they were newlyweds.

When she and Joe had split up two years ago, everyone had been surprised. Most people thought they were happy. They always appeared loving and kind to each other in public, so when they separated and eventually divorced, it came as quite a shock. When the courts awarded custody to Joe it was even more shocking. Lisa immediately lost ‘face’ with her friends. She couldn’t tell them why Kevin had been taken away from her. Her status within her circle of friends had changed completely.

None of them knew that Lisa and Joe had been fighting non-stop for years. Most of the fights had to do with Lisa’s anger management problems and Joe’s inability to reach her or convince her to get help. It was heartbreaking for Joe because he had loved Lisa since they were in high school and he had never wanted to break up with her. He did it for Kevin, because he was afraid for his child.

In the early years of their marriage, Joe would be surprised when Lisa would fly off the handle when little things would go wrong. She would wig-out over dinners not turning out right or beds left unmade. If the lawn was not mowed the way she wanted it, fireworks would erupt. More often than not she would blow up at either Joe or Kevin over the most insignificant things.

At first Joe would tease her and tell her it was because she was a fiery red-head, with the temper to match. Eventually he realized that her temper was a demon that was controlling her and ruining what would otherwise be a perfect relationship. He had gone to see a psychiatrist to try and figure out his wife. She had refused to go with him. In her eyes, she was fine.

He was told that most anger management problems had to do with control and a person’s inability to cope with the realization that so many things in life are out of their immediate control. He had sat through group therapy, listening to discussions about the different steps one could take to get help. Every time he would broach the subject, she would go into a rage and he would have to drop it to bring peace back to the household.

As Kevin grew and became more aware of his mother’s temper, he learned how to hide from her to avoid the backlash of whatever was pissing her off on any given moment. Still, he would end up with bruises when slippers were thrown at him, or wooden spoons landed on his cheek unexpectedly. After a certain point, he was no longer able to hide the marks from Joe and that was when his father decided it was time to put a stop to the abuse.

The day Joe told Lisa she had to get help or he would leave and take Kevin with him, was one of the worst days in young Kevin’s life. The yelling and crying had gone on for hours and so many plates had been broken, that night they had to eat off of paper ones. Kevin locked himself up in his room and had listened to his parents fighting non-stop, praying that this would eventually blow over and that no blood would be shed. He loved them both; he was just terrified of his mother when she was in this state of mind.

The final result of that unhappy day was a knock on the door and a policeman standing there responding to a neighbor’s call about possible domestic violence going on at the O’Riley home. This signaled the eventual end of the marriage.

When Joe was awarded custody of Kevin it came as no surprise to him. He knew they would never let Lisa have him. He had reams of documentation, detailing many incidents when she had been abusive. There were several calls Joe had made to the psychiatrist which were replayed in court with his permission. As the judge laid down his ruling, Lisa’s entire universe blew up in her face. The ultimate control over her life was taken away from her and this time no amount of yelling would fix it.

Kevin had moved in with Joe two years ago and slowly started to recover. In the beginning, Joe had taken him to see a child psychologist, to help him deal with all he had been through and to make sure there were no residual effects of Lisa’s abuse. The court had allowed her to visit Kevin every weekend so long as someone was with them. This had been difficult on everyone because Joe preferred not to be there when she had her visits. It was too painful for him because in spite of everything, he still loved her. Eventually they were able to make arrangements for Lisa’s sister, Angela, to be present on the days she came to visit.

This last week had been unusual in that Joe had been called away for most of the week on business. Something that had never happened before. He had been unable to make arrangements for Angela to stay with Kevin while he was gone and the rest of Joe’s family lived in other cities and were not able to help. He had to get special permission from the court to allow Kevin to stay with Lisa these last few days because they basically had no choice. Lisa of course was told that if they saw or heard anything about any abuse to Kevin they would never let her see him again. Reluctantly, Joe had left Kevin in her care.

On the surface, Lisa had not abused her son. No one would be able to prove that she had. But Joe knew better. In the four days he had been gone, Kevin had been transformed into someone else; an angry young man that was starting to look and sound just like his mother. It broke Joe’s heart and made him pick up the phone tonight to call Dr. Goldberg, Kevin’s psychologist, to talk about this new turn of events.

TBC


	12. Chapter 12

**Hell Week, Chapter 12**

“He’s going to be fine, Mr. Kinney.”

The emergency room doctor looked at the X-rays that were up on the view box and said, “Nothing is broken. He’s just going to have a nasty bruise, and he’ll be sore for a few days.”

“Can I play tomorrow?” Gus asked.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” the doctor said.

“Please,” Gus begged. “My team is counting on me.”

“You’re risking another injury you know. If you get hit in the same spot, your rib could crack.”

“Please,” Gus asked again.

“Well, I’ll let you play if you let me tape you up to protect your rib cage. That should help a little bit, but you’re going to be very sore tomorrow, maybe too sore to lift that arm and throw the ball. If you are, you should let someone else start.”

“I’ll be fine,” Gus said, with a determined look in his eye.

Brian stood there listening to the entire exchange, wondering where this kid came from. He was seeing so many different sides of Gus this week, sides he never knew existed.

The one facet of Gus’ personality that was becoming more and more apparent was this steely determination he had, this desire to excel at the task at hand. The fearlessness was another side he was displaying more and more. It wasn’t just a question of being stoic and brave; Gus was not going to cave to intimidation. Despite Kevin O’Riley’s best efforts.

In many ways, Gus reminded him of Justin as a young man. It was funny that he would, because Justin wasn’t his biological father, but they shared so many traits, it was uncanny.

Brian remembered all the times Justin had gone ahead and done what he thought was right, despite everyone’s opinion. His loving him and being with him for one thing. Anyone else in their right mind would have given up on Brian after the first thousand rejections. But not Justin. He just plowed ahead, knowing that eventually he would get what he wanted. His going to PIFA, against his parent’s wishes, joining the Pink Posse, ignoring Brian’s warnings. Standing up to Stockwell and not giving in to the pressure to let up and let things just take their course.

This determination, this knowing what he wanted at such an early age was a quality that Brian had always admired in Justin, even though it had caused him so much grief and anxiety in the past. And here he was, looking at this one aspect of Gus’ personality that was so similar and being revealed more and more.

As his thoughts moved back in time, he looked up and saw that Justin had arrived and was walking through the doors of the emergency room. He raised his hand to signal him and Justin quickly came over to be with him and Gus.

“Hey, Baby,” he said to Gus, reverting to his old pet name for him, “how are you feeling?” He bent down towards Gus who was lying on the bed. He kissed him on the forehead, smoothing back his hair and caressing his face.

“I’m fine, ‘DJ’, Doc said I’m good to play in tomorrow’s game.”

“Really?” Justin said, looking up at Brian. “Don’t you think he should rest after today’s injury?”

“No, I want to play tomorrow,” Gus said stubbornly.

Brian raised his eyebrows and looked at Justin. “I know. I agree with you, but he wants to play. My only consolation is that tomorrow will be a real game and O’Riley will be on defense. He and Gus won’t even be on the field at the same time.”

“I wanted to talk to both of you about that,” Justin said.

“What about it?” Brian asked.

“I was walking back to the car and I happened to overhear a very loud and angry conversation between Lisa and Joe O’Riley. It wasn’t very pretty and I’m sure they didn’t want anyone else to know about this.”

“Tell us, ‘Daddy J’, what did you hear?”

Justin started to tell them what he saw and heard between the O’Rileys. As he explained, Brian’s facial expression changed from curious to angry to disbelieving.

“You mean to tell me this is all about Lisa O’Riley’s delusions for her son?”

“It seems that way,” Justin remarked.

“And it has nothing to do with what happened at the party?” Brian asked.

“What party? You mean the Gentry’s? Dad, what happened at the party?”

“Oh, nothing Gus,” Brian said.

“What happened at the party, Dad?” Gus asked Brian, looking him straight in the eye. “I need to know.”

“You tell him, Sunshine. I’m going to check us out and get the car,” Brian said, not wanting to deal with anymore of Gus’ third degree.

Justin looked at Brian and then at Gus. So much alike, yet so different!

“It seems that Lisa made a pass at Dad while we were at the Gentry’s the other night and he told her he wasn’t interested.”

“A pass? What do you mean, ‘Daddy J’?”

Brian was gone and at the main registration desk by this time.

Justin looked at Gus and said, “She followed him into the rest room at the Gentry’s house and basically offered to sleep with him. He turned her down.”

Gus looked at Justin, stupefied, and said, “But he’s gay. Doesn’t she know that?”

“Gus, if I had a dollar for every straight woman that’s wanted your father, I’d be richer than the Google guys.”

Gus looked at Justin, surprised to hear this. “No kidding? So, when he turned her down, did she get mad at him?”

“Yeah,” Justin replied. “She was very upset. You know how your Dad can get sometimes. He didn’t hold anything back. He told her in no uncertain terms that he wasn’t interested. When all the incidents started happening with you and Kevin out on the football field, your Dad assumed that she had said something to Kevin that would set him off and make him go after you.”

“So, all this time, Dad’s been thinking this was his fault?”

‘Yeah. He’s been queening over this for days now. It’s been making him quite miserable, thinking this was all his doing.”

“Well, that is bullshit!” Gus said, looking and sounding exactly like the Brian Kinney Justin knew and loved.

“It may be bullshit, Gus, but so many decisions that have been made throughout our lives had to do with people’s reactions to our being Gay, this really was just one more incident. It never occurred to either one of us that it had nothing to do with that.”

“I guess not,” Gus answered. “You know ‘DJ’, I didn’t know Kevin till this week, but a lot of the other kids have known him for years, and have played ball with him on other teams. They told me that his mom has always wanted him to play quarterback and never let the coaches forget it for a minute. Last team he was on they tried him out for the spot but the coaches thought he’d be better as a linebacker. I guess she wasn’t happy about that. She made everyone miserable with her interfering.”

“What about his father though? I understand he lives with him?”

“He does, but she always hangs around to watch him play. She’s at all his practices, even when his Dad is there.”

“And Kevin listens to her, obviously,” Justin said.

“I suppose. He’s wanted to be quarterback too, from what I’ve been told. So whatever she says to him just helps fan the flames.” Gus replied, speaking words that were well beyond his years.

Justin couldn’t help but respect the way Gus was handling all of this. He seemed to be thinking the whole thing through and wanting to do the best thing. He wasn’t just reacting to a situation or flying off the handle like his father would have done.

Brian came back from signing Gus out and signaled to them that they were good to go.

In the car, Gus asked Brian if he thought it would be a good idea if they went to the O’Riley home and had a talk with them.

Brian turned to Justin and asked, “What do you think?”

“I don’t know, Brian. I’m not sure they will be very receptive right now.”

“Well, I’d like to go,” Gus said from the back seat, “and since I’m the one involved here, I think I have a say.”

Brian and Justin exchanged looks again. It seemed that they’d been doing this a lot since they got here. After thinking about it for a minute, Brian said that he wanted to go home first so Gus could change and grab a bite to eat.

“If there’s still time after all that, maybe we’ll go over there. We’ve got to call first, Gus, we can’t just show up at their house, okay?”

“Plus it’s late,” Justin interjected, “It’s almost ten o’clock. They might all be asleep by now.”

“Whatever,” Gus said.

“First, we need to call your Moms,” Brian said. “If I don’t let them know what’s going on there’ll be hell to pay.”

He dialed Lindsay and after a few rings she picked up.

“Hey, calling to let you know that we’ve just come from the hospital because Gus had a bit of a shake-up at the game earlier this evening.  
No, he’s fine, nothing serious, just a big bruise. Yeah, he’s playing tomorrow.”

Brian passed the phone to Gus who reassured his mother that everything was alright and not broken. She was relieved and passed the phone to Mel who also asked all the appropriate questions to make sure all was okay.

When they got home they were surprised to see a few cars in front of the house with people waiting for them. Coach Barton and his family were there, as well as Austin and his parents.

“Hey, guys,” Brian said, after he stopped the car and was helping Gus out.

“Gus,” Coach Barton said, “Is it good news or bad?”

“Good news, Coach. Nothing is broken, I’m taped up and the doc said I can play tomorrow.”

“That’s great news Gus, but I’m not sure that’s such a good idea. I don’t want you to get hit again and this time, get really hurt.”

“I know what you mean, Coach,” Brian said, “I basically said the same thing myself but the boy is stubborn as hell. Don’t know where he gets that trait.”

He was looking at Gus and smiling as he said that, so proud of him.

“I second the motion,” Justin said. “I would prefer that he not play tomorrow, but I know he will. Why don’t you all come in,” he said, “I’ll call for some pizza to be delivered. You’re probably hungry from waiting around here.”

“Actually, Justin,” Brandy Lehigh said, “We brought some food with us. We knew you’d be getting in late and wouldn’t have time to cook. If it’s okay with you, we’d like to come in and help with dinner?”

Surprised at this unexpected kindness, Brian said, “That’d be great.” He put his arm around Gus’ waist and helped him into the house.

Once inside everyone got busy setting up the impromptu meal. Brandy and Justin were in the kitchen taking the fried chicken out of the buckets they came in and setting up the side dishes of coleslaw, baked beans and biscuits. Finally when everything was ready they called the rest of the group into the kitchen and started to eat.

Justin insisted on bringing Gus a plate, making him sit on the sofa and not move around anymore than he had to. He had been given a mild pain killer at the emergency room so he was comfortable and feeling no pain.

As they sat and ate, Brian asked Coach Barton if he was aware of the history of Kevin O’Riley and his mother.

“I’d heard a little bit about them before the season started, but honestly, I forgot all about it until she started coming up to me during practice, wanting to know why we wouldn’t let Kevin try out for quarterback.”

“Well, we obviously didn’t know anything about this,” Brian said. “Are you going to say anything to his father, or even bring this up to the rest of the coaching staff?”

“The coaches are all aware of what’s going on after today’s game. We’ve already spoken with Joe O’Riley about Kevin.”

“And?” Justin asked.

“At first we thought we’d take him off the team, but after speaking with his father, and getting the whole story, we decided not to do that.”

“That’s all well and good, Coach, but how do I know that this won’t happen again?” Brian asked.

“We don’t think it will. I really can’t say more than that Mr. Kinney, I have to respect their privacy, but I want to reassure you that nothing like this will happen again, if we can help it.”

“That’s not very reassuring Coach, the ‘if we can help it’ part,” Brian said.

“I know, but it’s the best I can offer at this time,” Coach Barton said.

Gus wants to go talk to Kevin and his Dad,” Justin said. “Do you think that’s a good idea?”

“I don’t see how it would hurt,” the Coach said.

“Well, I’d like to try,” Gus said. “We’ll do it tomorrow morning, okay, Dad? Daddy J?”

Brian and Justin looked at each other, for the umpteenth time today and reluctantly said, “Okay”.

TBC  



	13. Chapter 13

**Hell Week, Chapter 13**  
  
Lisa had been sitting in the dark now for at least three hours. It was almost midnight and she had consumed all the beer that was in the twelve pack she had bought several hours ago. Her mood was dark and ugly, like the ashtray heaped with butts in front of her.  
  
The television was on, but she saw nothing. She kept hearing Joe’s voice telling her that she would be barred from all of Kevin’s practices in the future and that if she violated that, they would take away her weekend visiting privileges altogether. There had been another screaming match between them earlier this evening when he came by to tell her that.   
  
Kevin was already back at Joe’s house. They had seen to that as soon as the game ended. She had not even been allowed to talk with Kevin after the game.   
  
No one gave a damn that Kevin had made an outstanding play and had stopped the other team from making the touchdown. All they were talking about was the quarterback and how he might be seriously injured.  
  
Her life had turned to shit and it was all because of that fucking queer’s kid. She should have known that Brian would go and tell the whole world about their little altercation in the bathroom. He was a big fairy and they all loved to gossip. The coaches had sounded really pissed when they talked to her on the phone, telling her that she needed to stay away from everyone on the football team, especially that Peterson boy. Lisa didn’t give a rat’s ass! She needed to make sure that he couldn’t play anymore, that way they would have no choice but to look for another quarterback and give Kevin a chance.  
  
It would have all been so much easier if Brian had taken her up on her offer. Then he would have been under her spell and she would have been able to convince him to do anything. He could have talked to the coaching staff and made them put Kevin in as an alternate.   
  
How dare he turn her down anyway? No one had ever done that before. Everyone had wanted her body; since she was twelve years old.   
She was a beautiful girl and people told her that repeatedly. Her biggest admirer was Uncle Dan, her father’s younger brother. He lived with them and was her special friend. He would tell her over and over again how beautiful she was, late at night after everyone had gone to bed. He would sneak into her room and lay on the bed with her, telling her she was special. Then he would touch her all over, kissing and caressing all her secret places, making her feel strange and mushy inside.   
  
She had been really upset the night her father had come in to her room and saw Uncle Dan asleep beside her. He had grabbed him and almost killed him, he was so angry. Lisa didn’t know why he was so upset. Maybe he was jealous because Lisa liked him so much.   
  
After that Uncle Dan never came around again. She only saw him when her family got together as a group. In fact, that was the end of her ‘normal’ life as she knew it. From then on she was never left alone. Her parents constantly monitored her every move. They even insisted that she go back to sharing rooms with Angela, instead of having her own room.   
  
The worst part were all the visits that Father Reuter made, twice weekly. He would drone on and on about how special she was, that we were all God’s children and that her body was His vessel and that she should respect it and make sure no one ever touched her in all her special places until she was married. She remembered how he always talked to her in his soft voice, laying his hand on her knee, moving it up and down her leg, each time going further up her skirt, trying to tell her that what Uncle Dan and she had done was wrong. Yet his eyes told her that he wanted to do the same things, the only thing stopping him was the fact that they were sitting in the front parlor and Mama was in the kitchen, listening to everything he said.   
  
After a certain point, Lisa realized that all the men she met were like Uncle Dan. Everyone wanted to be her special friend and touch her where they shouldn’t. At first she resisted, especially with the boys in school. But soon she began to see how much power she had over them, turning them into her little slaves by allowing them to feel her up for a few minutes. She started to learn the different ways that she could get things she wanted by using her body. Most of the time she was successful, only rarely did she not obtain her goal.   
  
Yet, late at night when she’d lie in her bed, she’d think of all the things Father Reuter had told her about God and how she should remain pure like the Virgin Mary. Then the tears would come and she would start shaking, so angry at Uncle Dan for hurting her the way he had, for changing her. He had taken her innocence and had turned her into something tainted in the eyes of God. She’d stand in church with her parents and her sister Angela and look around and feel like the biggest sinner in the world. Surely everyone there knew she was impure. Whenever she stood in line to receive Communion, she felt that she was doing so under false pretenses and that eventually God would punish her for receiving Him in her state of sin. Yet she continued to play the games with the boys at school.   
  
As she got older and matured, men flocked to her even more. She never had an awkward period where she was afflicted with acne or did not look like the perfect example of an Irish beauty. Her striking red hair, light blue eyes and iridescent complexion were like a magnet for most men she met. By the time she was sixteen she had reached her full height of five feet eight inches, taller than most girls in her class and always the center of everyone’s attention.   
  
By the time she entered her junior year of high school, she had earned herself a reputation of being one of the ‘easy’ girls. The boys still vied for her attention but there was now an underlying sense of disrespect because they knew that eventually they would get something from her that most girls her age were not willing to give. This created conflicting feelings in her because she could sense this shift in the way people thought of her. It was no less than the way she thought of herself, late at night as she lay in bed.   
  
Things changed when Joe O’Riley stepped into her life, the last year of high school. She had just turned seventeen and was in full bloom. Joe had moved to Canada from the U.S. and didn’t know anyone in town. Therefore, he knew nothing about her reputation and at eighteen he was already six feet four inches, well over two hundred pounds. No one would have dared to say anything to him about Lisa once they realized he was smitten.   
  
He had become her constant companion and treated her with respect and love. He never tried to take advantage of any situation they found themselves to be in, always telling her that he wanted to wait till they were married. She was so taken aback by this, she found herself falling in love with him, even though she knew that she didn’t deserve him. Every day she was expecting someone to tell Joe all about her and burst his bubble, but it never happened. Her parents liked him because he was Catholic and came from a good family. He was smart and planned to go to college, everything they were hoping to find in a son-in-law.   
  
When they graduated from high school and he was accepted into a nearby college, he begged her to marry him. At first her parents and his objected. They were both too young. How was he planning on supporting her while he was in school? He had an answer to every objection. They waited two years before her parents finally gave in. The wedding was small but lovely; all her family and friends attended.  
Her parents were relieved that everything had turned out so well for her, knowing how bad things could have been.  
  
The marriage was good for several years. Lisa responded well to Joe’s kindness and love, learning how to be a proper wife and companion. She insisted that he let her do all the house work because he was still going to school and holding down a part-time job at night. He didn’t really have time to help her at home.   
  
In reality, she didn’t want his help. She was not comfortable with the way he did things, she preferred to do it all, the way she liked everything done. The few times he would try and help with the dishes or straightening out the room would always turn into more work for her as she would have to redo everything once he had gone to bed. All the while, fuming, not really understanding where all this anger was coming from, yet knowing it was there.  
  
When Kevin was born, it seemed that their happiness was complete. Lisa’s whole life changed the day they put him in her arms. He was a beautiful child and an easygoing baby. He became the center of her small universe, a chance for her to recreate her childhood with a better scenario than the one she had starred in. No one was going to come to his room in the middle of the night and make him feel ashamed of himself. She guarded him and was fiercely protective, sometimes too much.   
  
When he got a little older and started to participate in school activities and sports, she continued to be on the fringes of his life, making sure that he always got what she considered the best. Encouraging him, yet at the same time trying to control every situation that he found himself to be in. When things didn’t go the way she planned she would always make a fuss and browbeat teachers or coaches into changing their minds. Soon she became known as one of the meddling parents, the kind that always had a say in whatever decision was made. If Kevin dared to contradict her she would fly into a rage, telling him that she knew best and that he should just obey.  
  
When he took up football she assumed they would make him the quarterback. Surely everyone could see how talented he was and how perfectly he fit in that position. When they put him in the linebacker position Lisa couldn’t believe it. She didn’t understand how they could be so blind.   
  
Kevin tried telling her that he was happy where they had him. She never listened to him. In her mind’s eye, he should have been the quarterback, the captain of the team, the leader; he should have been the most important person on the team.  
  
Lisa wanted to retain control of the only thing within her ability to control. Her son’s life. And by doing this, she hoped to retain a fragile hold on her own destiny which she had derailed by not giving in to Joe’s demands that she seek counseling. Her status among her friends would be elevated by being the mother of the ‘star’. She would no longer be the divorcee who had lost custody of her son. People would treat her with respect.   
  
Now, it was over. Brian and Joe had seen to that. She had lost everything! They would not even allow her to go near a football field unless there was a game. Her rage at this turn of events had become a powerful force that kept pushing her towards a conclusion that she felt was justified and warranted. She was not going to let them get away with this.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Across town Brian lay in bed trying to convince himself to go to sleep. He had just been on the receiving end of one of Justin’s ‘guaranteed to relax you and make you sleep’ blowjobs, yet, after the initial lethargy, his mind had started up again. Justin, of course, had passed out after Brian had returned the favor.   
  
Unfortunately, Brian kept going over all that had transpired over the last few days and could not let his guard down long enough to catch a few hours of sleep. After years of constant vigilance, watching his back and Justin’s, he knew that this wasn’t over. All his senses were still on high alert, even though the coach had guaranteed it would never happen again. He was tempted to forbid Gus to play tomorrow but he knew that wouldn’t solve anything. It would only infuriate his son and teach him the wrong lesson.  
  
He leaned over and took a joint off the night stand. Inhaling the smoke deep into his lungs he hoped this would do the trick and give him some much needed rest. His nerves were on edge, unaccustomed to his surroundings and dealing with circumstances that were new and foreign to him. He was much happier dealing with all the dramas of daily life in the world of bitchy queers and back stabbing business execs. Suburban viciousness was a different world altogether.   
  
Looking at the clock he saw that it was now one-thirty in the morning. He’d finished the joint but still, sleep eluded him. Giving up, he slowly moved off the bed so as not to wake Justin, and headed towards the kitchen. The house was quiet and the only sound he could hear was the rustle of his feet on the hardwood floor as he made his way across the room. He had thrown on a pair of sweat pants but was bare-chested with nothing on his feet, as usual.   
  
When he got to the kitchen, he opened the refrigerator door to see what he could find. He had not turned on the kitchen lights yet as there was enough illumination coming out of the fridge to allow him to see. There was some cheese and a bit of turkey and ham, all the fixings needed for a sandwich. He wasn’t really hungry, he was just jumpy and anxious, but the thought of food suddenly appealed to him. He pulled everything he needed out of the fridge and made his way over to the pantry to find a loaf of bread.   
  
As he was getting ready to turn on the kitchen light, he heard a noise coming from outside. He stopped what he was doing and listened. There it was again, a rustling sound, like branches moving across the side of the house. Except there were no branches; the nearest tree was at least twenty yards away. He moved away from the light switch on the wall and tentatively made his way over to the sink to look out the kitchen window which was right above it. His eyes had long since adjusted to the darkness of the room and he stood there and looked out; hoping to see what was making the rustling sound. He saw nothing unusual, just the familiar landscape. As he was about to turn away, he saw something white, moving, behind one of the bushes near the garage. Fuck! Now what the hell do I do?  
  
He moved over towards the door and picked up the house phone that was attached to the wall. He dialed 9-1-1, hoping that they used the same system in Canada. Instantly, a voice came on the line, “911 operator, please state your emergency?”  
  
“Yes, this is Brian Kinney. I’m a guest at the Peterson-Marcus home, 415 North Whembly. I think there is an intruder on our property and I want you to send someone out here to check it out please.”  
  
“Did you actually see someone, Mr. Kinney?”  
  
“Yes.”  
  
“Male or female?”  
  
“I don’t know. I’d just like you to send a police car out here to check it out.”  
  
“Someone’s on the way right now, please stay in the house until they get there, okay?”  
  
“Yeah, thanks.”  
  
Brian hung up and moved over to the window again. He could see out a whole lot better than anyone could see in. As he stared out the window there was another flash of white. This time he saw the body it was attached to. It was Lisa O’Riley. She had a two gallon gasoline can in one hand and a Zippo lighter in the other. Her hair was completely disheveled and she was talking to herself as she made her way around the garage pouring gasoline on the ground just outside the wooden frame.   
  
What the Fuck! He had to try and stop her before she hit the gas with her lighter. He couldn’t wait for the cops, it would be too late!  
  
Brian yanked the kitchen door open and yelled, “Lisa!”  
  
Lisa looked up, startled. She dropped the lighter and the gas can. She started laughing when she saw Brian.   
  
“Hey, there, Mr. fucking, faggot Kinney. What are you doing up at this hour? Wanna see a fire?”  
  
Brian stared at her, trying to figure out the best way to stall her till the cops showed up. She looked completely looped; either drunk or nuts, whichever the case was, it wasn’t good.   
  
“Hey Lisa,” Brian said to her, leaning against the kitchen door frame. “Why don’t you come in for a minute? I’ve been thinking about what happened the other day and I think we should talk about it.”  
  
“Why? You change your mind and want to fuck me?”  
  
Yeah, right! “I think we should talk it over, things are never what they appear to be, don’t you think?”  
  
She bent down to pick up the lighter at her feet. She started flicking the lid, open and close, open and close…trying to decide what to do.  
  
“I’m in the mood for a bonfire Mr. fucking Kinney. I think I should put the lighter on top of the gasoline can and we can roast some hot dogs; your hot dog,” she said, laughing hysterically.   
  
“You don’t want to do that, Lisa,” Brian said. “What’s that going to solve other than putting you in jail?”  
  
“It’ll solve a lot of things,” she said, looking at him. She stretched her arms out and started twirling round and round, chanting in a sing-song voice.   
  
“My baby will be quarterback as soon as your kid is out of the picture. And Gus will go up in flames, just like you and your hot dog. We’ll have a multiple wiener roast.” She looked and sounded like something straight out of ‘Dante’s Inferno’.   
  
Brian started walking towards her, wincing as his bare feet stepped on pebbles. She moved backward when she saw him approaching.  
  
“Stop coming to me, Brian. Stop, or I’ll throw the lighter on the ground and start the fire.”  
  
She moved backwards a step and knocked the gasoline can over. Gas started pouring out of the top since she had never replaced the lid. Some of it poured on her shoes as well as the ground she was standing on. She continued to play with the Zippo, flicking the flame on and off.  
  
Brian stopped in his tracks, trying to figure out how much time had elapsed since he had called 911. Was it five minutes, ten? It seemed like forever and still, no sirens were heard. He couldn’t decide what to do. He just knew he had to do something.   
  
Suddenly, Lisa was startled by a noise behind her and turned to see who was there. Justin was looking at her, holding a mini fire extinguisher that he had pulled off the wall in the kitchen. He had sneaked into the garage through the side door in the kitchen and was able to creep up behind Lisa without her hearing him.   
  
“Hand me the lighter, Lisa. This is not going to work. I’ve got a fire extinguisher and I can put out whatever you start. Let’s not even go there, okay?” Justin said to her, speaking softly and calmly, trying not to alarm her anymore than she already was.  
  
“Well, if it isn’t fucking faggot number two. Come to join the party, Mr. Kinney-Taylor, or whatever the hell your name is?”  
  
“Justin,” Brian yelled, terrified that he was near Lisa and in danger. “Get away from her.”  
  
“Yeah, Justin,” Lisa yelled back, “Get away from the crazy lady or she’ll roast your hot dog too.” Lisa moved a little closer to Justin and spat at him.  
  
She whirled around and looked at Brian again. Brian could tell that she had completely lost it at this point. Her eyes were wild, darting one way and then another. She kept looking back at Justin then turning around to look at him, all the while touching her hair and shirt with her left hand as the lighter in her right hand was being flicked on and off.   
  
In the distance sirens were sounding. Brian breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that the police were finally approaching the house. Lisa looked at him and realized the same thing.   
  
She dropped the lighter at her feet.

  
TBC

 


	14. Chapter 14

The smell was terrible. Brian couldn’t get it out of his nose, even after multiple showers. The firemen, police and paramedics had all gone and the house was finally quiet after the excitement of the last hour and a half.   
  
Brian was amazed that Gus had slept through the whole thing. The pain killers they gave him at the emergency room last night had absolutely knocked him out; he had not stirred since they put him to bed at midnight.  
  
He looked over at Justin who was sitting on the chair across from him. His hair was still wet from the shower they had shared and the only noticeable marks on him were the red splotches around his fingers where the chemicals from the fire extinguisher had irritated his skin.   
  
Brian thanked whichever God was watching over them for the hundredth time that night. He could still taste the bile in his mouth from when he threw up after they had taken Lisa away. The sight of her burning legs had been too much and he had finally lost it in the bushes close to the kitchen door. Her screams were still ringing in his ears, but what he kept trying to forget was the smell. The smell of burning flesh as Lisa’s legs caught on fire and Justin tried desperately to put it out with the fire extinguisher. Brian knew he would probably never be able to eat any kind of grilled meat again for the rest of his life.   
  
The firemen kept telling them how lucky they were. Things could have been so much worse if Brian had not been awake to see Lisa or if Justin had not had the presence of mind to pull the fire extinguisher off the wall, and if Mel and Linds had not been as anal as they were; having a fire extinguisher in the kitchen in the first place.   
  
The good news was that no one had died, neither the house nor the garage had been burnt, and after they had hosed everything down with a ton of water, the danger of anything catching fire had long gone.  
  
“Brian,” Justin said, looking at him with concern. “You okay?”  
  
Brian nodded, “Come over here.”   
  
“What a fucking nightmare this has been,” Justin said, as he moved over to the sofa and practically sat on top of Brian.   
  
“I know,” Brian replied. “It’s over, though, she won’t be bothering Gus anymore. Or anyone else for that matter,” Brian said sardonically.  
  
Brian wrapped his arms around Justin, gathering strength and comfort from the closeness. He was still badly shaken and kept seeing the scene over and over in his head. Justin was trembling slightly in his arms, even though he said he was fine.   
  
Eventually, Brian started to move, kissing first Justin’s mouth, then the rest of his face. He kept moving his mouth all over him, smelling and touching, reassuring himself that he was safe and intact. His hands were roaming all over Justin’s body as well, feeling his arms and legs, rubbing and stroking, needing to connect. He picked up Justin’s right hand and looked at the redness that was still there from the strong chemicals.   
  
“I would have died if anything had happened to you,” Brian said quietly into Justin’s ear.   
  
“I’m fine, Brian, really, I’m okay. I can’t believe that I actually thought about grabbing that fire extinguisher. I don’t even remember doing it.”  
  
“You were sound asleep when I left you in bed. What woke you up?”  
  
“I’m not sure. I just sensed your absence and that woke me. It’s always been like that, you know. My body seems to have this Brian Kinney homing device. When you’re gone, it looks for you.”  
  
Brian shook his head and huffed out a quiet laugh. “You never cease to amaze me, Sunshine. How the fuck did I ever get along without you?”  
  
“You didn’t,” Justin said. He was trying to act calm for Brian’s sake, but he was far from it. The reality was that he was an emotional wreck right now, trying to keep it together and not get hysterical. The realization that he had come so close to losing Brian and Gus in one fell swoop was too much for him to even contemplate.   
  
All he knew for sure was that if it had happened, if Lisa had somehow managed to set the fire, he would have most likely died as well, because he would have stopped at nothing to try and save Brian and Gus.   
  
Shaking all morbid thoughts away, Justin pulled himself out of Brian’s embrace and said, “We need to call them, you know.”  
  
“I’m aware,” Brian said. “I’m just waiting for a reasonable hour to call. We’ve already scared them once in the last few hours. This is going to be the cherry on the sundae.”  
  
“I know, but it needs to be done,” Justin replied.  
  
“They’ll probably take the next flight out and never let us baby sit again,” Brian said.  
  
“We’re hardly sitting a baby, Brian,” Justin replied condescendingly, “And besides, I can honestly say that for once you had nothing to do with any of this.”  
  
“Maybe if I had fucked her?”  
  
“Christ! Shut up or you’re going to make me puke all over you.”  
  
By this time it was almost six in the morning. Neither one had slept; except for the few minutes that Justin had dozed after the blowjob he had received last night. They were both going to be pretty useless the rest of the day if they didn’t get some sleep. The game was at four in the afternoon and then the dance was after that.   
  
“Sunshine, come on. Let’s try and catch a few hours of sleep, we’re going to feel like shit if we don’t. We can call Mel and Linds when we get up.”  
  
“Okay,” Justin said as he pulled away from Brian, grabbed him by the hand and dragged him into the bedroom. They both fell into bed, not even stopping to take off any clothes, and were asleep within minutes of each other.   
  
Around ten o’clock Gus finally woke up and staggered downstairs. He looked eerily like Brian as he made his way into the kitchen; same bad bed-head, same bare feet. He was trying to find some caffeine, in either coffee or Pepsi form, and when he realized that he was alone in a very quiet kitchen, with no coffee in the pot, he had to settle for the Pepsi. He was surprised that no one was awake yet. Brian and Justin were usually up way ahead of him so the fact that they were still in bed was unusual, to say the least.  
  
The house smelled unfamiliar too, like smoke, but the fireplace had not been lit since last winter so he didn’t know where the smell was coming from.   
  
He walked over to the guest room and stuck his head in. Brian and Justin were both fast asleep on top of the comforter.   
  
“Hey, Gus,” Brian said, as he woke instantly to the noise of the door opening.  
  
“Dad, sorry to bother you, I didn’t think you’d still be asleep.”  
  
“It’s okay. Come on in and sit for a minute. What time is it?”  
  
“I think it’s around ten,” Gus answered.  
  
Justin started to stir when he heard the voices and soon he too was awake.   
  
“Hey, Baby, how are you feeling?”  
  
“I’m fine, ‘Daddy J’, just a little sore, but I know I’ll be able to play later on. I just need to move around and loosen up.”  
  
“Well, that’s good,” Justin said, stretching. “I’m going to the kitchen and make us all some coffee, okay?”  
  
“Please,” Brian said, “I need about four cups.”  
  
Justin left the room and Brian sat up and propped the pillows against his back. He reached over to the nightstand and lit his first cigarette of the day. As he inhaled deeply, he looked at Gus and thought about the best way he could tell him what had happened last night. Gus sat cross legged at the foot of the bed, drinking his Pepsi.  
  
“What?” Gus said. “You’re looking at me with that look again.”  
  
“What look?” Brian asked.  
  
“The ‘I’ve got to tell him something bad’, look.”  
  
“God, that’s pathetic! Am I that easy to read?”  
  
“Just by me, I guess. No one else seems to figure you out, except for ‘DJ’ of course.”  
  
“Alright. Enough already with the Brian Kinney analysis.”  
  
Brian took a deep breath and proceeded to tell Gus about last night’s events. As he kept on talking, as calmly and as unbiased as he could, he watched Gus’ facial expressions change from shock, to horror, to sadness. By the time he finished telling him everything, there were tears in Gus’ eyes that were threatening to spill over.  
  
Gus moved up to Brian’s side.   
  
“Hey, Sonny Boy,” Brian said gently, as he reached for Gus and enveloped him against his body.  
  
“Dad,” Gus said, as the tears started to flow down his face. “I can’t believe she did that. What kind of person does something like that?”  
  
Gus had his face pressed to Brian’s bare shoulder and Brian could feel him shaking.   
  
“She’s a very sick person, Gus. She was sick for a long time, from what I understand, so this really had nothing to do with you or me, or even Kevin. This was all about her.”  
  
“I feel terrible for Kevin,” Gus said. “I know that if anything happened to you or ‘Daddy J’, or Mom and Momma, I wouldn’t know what to do. I can’t imagine what he must be going through.”  
  
“I’m not sure if he knows what happened last night,” Brian said. “I’m assuming that the cops have called his Dad but I don’t know what they’re going to tell Kevin.”  
  
“Is she going to die?” Gus asked, pulling back from Brian’s shoulder and looking him in the face.  
  
“No,” Brian said, cringing when he remembered Lisa’s screams. “But she’ll be in the hospital for a long time and in extreme pain. I doubt that she’ll ever walk again. Her legs were pretty badly burned.”  
  
Gus swiped at his tears with the back of his hand and asked Brian, “You think we should call Kevin and his Dad?”   
  
Brian looked at his son, completely surprised by his reaction. He was so like Lindsay at that moment, sympathizing with the O’Riley’s and wanting to be the peace maker and make everything better.  
  
“No,” Brian replied. “We need to let them grieve on their own. You can talk to them later, when it’s not so fresh, okay?”  
  
“I guess,” Gus answered.  
  
At that point, Justin stuck his head in the door and announced that the coffee was ready. He waited at the entrance to the room as he watched father and son get off the bed and walk towards him.  
  
Gus stood in front of him and said, “You saved us, ‘Daddy J’. That was really brave what you did; I wish I had been here to see it.”  
  
“Thank God, you weren’t Gus,” Justin replied.  
  
Gus gave Justin a huge hug and hung on to him for the longest time. Brian moved around to Justin’s back and hugged him as well. All three of them stood together, Justin sandwiched between Brian and Gus, holding on to each other quietly, thankful that they were all here and able to do this. They broke apart when they heard the door bell ring.  
  
“Who the fuck could that be?” Brian asked.  
  
The three of them moved over to the front door and Gus opened it to find two policemen standing there.  
  
“Hi, I’m Officer Fox and this is Officer Watson. May we come in?”  
  
“Yeah, sure,” Brian said from behind.  
  
The police stepped into the house and they made their way into the kitchen.   
  
Brian walked over to where the coffee pot was and reached for some mugs which were kept close by.  
  
“Coffee?” he asked everyone in general.  
  
“I’ll have some,” Justin replied.  
  
“None for us,” the policemen said, “Thanks.”  
  
“Gus?” Brian asked, raising his eyebrows.  
  
“No thanks, Dad.”  
  
“The reason we’re here is to give you an update on Mrs. O’Riley’s condition and to find out if you will be pressing charges for attempted murder,” Officer Watson stated.  
  
“Murder? That’s a pretty strong word, isn’t it Officer?” Justin asked.  
  
“It is, Sir, but that is what she was trying to do.”  
  
“Tell us what’s going on with her right now,” Brian interjected.  
  
“She’s at the burn unit and sedated. Her ex-husband and her parents were called when they took her in early this morning. As soon as they are able to transfer her, she’ll be put in the psyche ward for evaluation.”  
  
“And her son?” Justin asked.  
  
“We believe that he has not been told about the incident,” Officer Fox answered.  
  
Brian moved over to the kitchen table and sat down. Justin and Gus were already sitting and the two Officers were standing close by.  
  
“I would like to talk with the family of Mrs. O’Riley before we decide anything,” Brian said.  
  
“Yes,” Justin seconded. “They’ve been through enough trauma. We should wait and see what they plan to do with her before we talk about pressing charges.”  
  
“Well, that’s all well and good, but you don’t have much time. She will be charged with trespassing and destruction of property. That is a given. But for the murder charge, there is a window of opportunity here and you don’t want to miss it by not making any decisions,” Officer Fox told them.  
  
“Dad,” Gus said, “We need to talk with Mr. O’Riley and Kevin first.”  
  
“I agree with my son, officer. Window of opportunity be damned. We need to make the right choice for everyone, regardless of deadlines,” Brian said.  
  
“Well, obviously, that is your decision. You are the injured party and it’s your choice.”  
  
“Well, I guess that’s it for now,” Justin said as he stood up and started to move towards the front door. The police followed closely behind him.   
  
Justin pulled the front door open and was surprised to see Joe and Kevin O’Riley standing there.  
  
“Hi,” Joe said looking very serious. “We were just about to ring the door bell.”  
  
“Oh,” Justin exclaimed. “Brian,” he called out, “the O’Riley’s are here.”  
  
Brian and Gus came out of the kitchen and stood in the hallway looking at Joe and Kevin. They were all quiet, looking at each other until the silence was broken by Gus.  
  
“Come in,” he said.

TBC


	15. Chapter 15

It was Saturday evening and they were at the dance. Brian and Justin stood at the entrance of the school gym, handing out programs for the upcoming football season. They had done the same thing this afternoon, just before the game had started.  
  
Brian had no idea when Justin had worked on the programs. It was a miracle the project ever got done, considering all the excitement over the last few days. Undoubtedly, Justin had labored over it at night while the rest of them slept; but Brian had never seen him doing it.   
  
The game earlier on had been a huge success. The kids had won a resounding victory over Browne. The coaches had allowed Gus to start but because they didn’t want him to overdo it and risk a more permanent injury, they had only let him play for the first and last quarter. That was more than enough for him as it gave him a taste of a real game, yet left him wanting more.   
  
Even the Squeelies were in rare form this afternoon. It was the first time they had their official game uniforms on and they were completely energized by it.   
  
Brian watched them as they got ready. They were huddled on one side of the bleachers, close to the entrance where he and Justin were distributing the programs. Their voices were raised at full squeal. He watched in fascination as the curlers came off the de-rigueur ponytails, allowing the curly tendrils to fall gracefully and flop around when they jumped and kicked. The short skirts were all pressed, ruffled socks matching the orange and white school colors of their uniforms. Even the bows in their hair were matching, orange and white. They were practicing their high kicks and generally doing all the standard clapping and chanting that drove Brian nuts. He tried to imagine Jenny Rebecca doing all those things and he couldn’t; it was giving him a headache.   
  
The girls had all made a beeline for Gus when the family had arrived at the football field earlier this afternoon. They hovered around him, checking him out and making sure he was alright. One girl in particular, Ashley, stayed with him when the others had left. She only moved when the coaches called everyone to their respective groups. She was very pretty, blond and petite. Apparently Gus had the same penchant for blonds, which secretly amused Brian.   
  
After the game they had rushed home so that they could shower and get ready for the dance. Gus took forever to get ready, stressing over the clothes he was going to wear. Picking up and discarding one shirt after another, finally settling on the new one they had bought the other day for precisely this event.   
  
“Christ, Gus, will you stop queening already! You look great! The girls will be all over you like flies on shi..”  
  
“Stop Dad,” Gus said laughing, “I get the picture.”  
  
“Well, get a move on or we’ll get there after they close the doors.”  
  
“Wait a second,” Justin said. “We need to take a picture of him or Mel and Linds will never forgive us. This is his first official dance, after all.”  
  
“Fine,” Brian sighed, resigned to dealing with two queens tonight.  
  
Justin went to get his camera and Brian stood in the living room, beer in hand, watching Gus as he continued to check himself out in the mirror above the fireplace. He really is a good looking boy, Brian thought to himself. He was just starting to mature and shed the little boy softness that Brian was so used to seeing. He wore his hair short, so as not to interfere with his sports, but it suited him. It reminded Brian of the look he had in his late twenties, around the time he had met Justin.  
  
There was something different about Gus’ face though which Brian couldn’t quite put his finger on. There seemed to be a new look in his eyes which wasn’t there last week.   
  
“Ready?” Justin asked as he came back from getting the camera.  
  
“Right,” Brian said and went over to where Gus was to position him for  
the picture.   
  
Justin took several photos of Gus by himself, a few of him with Brian and then setting the camera to the automatic mode, he rushed over to the group for a family shot of the three of them.   
  
Brian turned to Gus and moved his face close to Gus’ neck to smell him. “How come you don’t have any cologne on?” he asked.   
  
Gus was surprised by the question and answered, “I don’t have any.”  
  
“What!” Brian exclaimed.  
  
“Sunshine, go to the bathroom and get this boy some cologne. Get the good one, the new Gucci that you bought for me last month.”  
  
Turning to Gus he said “Don’t you know that in the world of mating, smell is extremely important? It’s what attracts animals to each other, females to males, in your case. It just completes the package and you mustn’t ever forget that.”   
  
“Okay, Dad,” Gus said looking at his father with a very familiar lip-biting smile.  
  
Just before getting ready to go Gus asked Justin if he could talk with Brian for a minute, alone.   
  
“Sure, Gus,” Justin said. It’s only seven. You have time; the dance doesn’t start till seven-thirty. I’ll be out in the kitchen if you need me, okay?”  
  
Gus looked at Justin gratefully and said, “Thanks, ‘Daddy J’.”  
  
Brian and Gus moved over to the sofa and sat. Brian looked at Gus, waiting. He could tell that Gus was extremely uncomfortable. His complexion was changing from his normal pale pink to beet red, the telltale sign of his discomfort.   
  
“Go ahead, Gus. What is it?” Brian asked.  
  
“You know that talk we had the other night, about condoms?”  
  
Oh shit! “Yeah, what about it?”  
  
“Well, I’m glad we had that talk, because now I know. But the truth is I’ve never even kissed a girl… and I think I might want to tonight, but I’m afraid I’ll make a fool of myself… because I don’t know how, and I’ve heard that girls make fun of boys who don’t know how to kiss… and I don’t mean kiss, Dad, I mean KISS, with tongue!” 

Gus blurted out this sentence as fast as he could, gulping in a deep breath and turning every shade of pink possible. He looked at his father imploringly, hoping for an answer.   
  
Brian did his best not to smile. He knew he had to take this question as seriously as it was delivered. He was quiet for a minute, thinking about what he would say, and then he asked, “Gus, what’s your favorite desert?”  
  
“Huh?”  
  
“What is your favorite thing to eat as a special treat?”  
  
“Smores,” Gus replied, looking at his father with a puzzled look on his face.  
  
“Okay. When you eat Smores, do you take one or two bites and then it’s gone, or do you nibble and lick and enjoy every little morsel?”  
  
“I nibble,” Gus said, starting to get the picture.  
  
“Exactly! Kissing should be like eating Smores. It’s something you should take your time with and really enjoy. It can be the most erotic thing you and your partner will do, if it’s done right. No one likes sloppy kissers, Gus, it’s gross and you’ll turn her off in a minute.”  
  
Brian proceeded, seeing he had Gus’ full attention.  
  
“You need to start slow, moving all over her face before you get to her mouth. Don’t go directly to your goal. There are a lot of places that you can savor and enjoy along the way. Ears are critical, so is her neck, her cheeks and forehead. All facial parts are interesting and need to be explored. Use your hands too, Gus, while you’re kissing her. Caress her face gently, the way you would a kitten or a baby. By the time you get done with that, she’ll be begging you, and so grateful that you’re finally kissing her on the mouth. And when you get there Gus, don’t ram your tongue into her. This is not ‘The Invasion of the Body Snatchers’. Enter slowly and proceed with caution; pretend it’s a Smore straight from the fireplace, hot and melting. If you go too fast you’ll burn your tongue. If you’re too slow, everything will fall all over you. You’ve got to do it just right.”  
  
Gus sat there staring at his father, mesmerized. He had no idea his one simple question would result in a dissertation on the art of kissing.   
  
“And, for God’s sake, no matter what you do, do not open your mouth so wide that her entire head could fit in it. You don’t want to devour her, you just want a taste. Got all that, Sonny Boy?”  
  
“Yeah, Dad, I think so… slow and gentle, right?” Gus said.”   
  
“Right, son,” Brian finally smiled.   
  
You’ll find out soon enough how the slow and gentle can turn into hot and fast before you know it. How one kiss can turn you both into a quivering mass of emotion…how one kiss can change your life…the way my first kiss with the most beautiful man I ever met changed mine. You’ll find this out in your own good time Sonny Boy, and when you do, I hope you are as lucky as I was.   
  
That was earlier and now, he and Justin were at the dance with several other parents, watching their offspring doing a timeless mating ritual. Boys on one side, girls on the other. It doesn’t matter what year this is, it’s always the same, Brian thought to himself.  
  
The kids were finally starting to converge on the dance floor as the music blared to obnoxious levels. Justin could see Gus walk over to Ashley, the little blond cheerleader that had been by his side earlier this afternoon. They looked so cute together, Gus almost a full head taller than her. Their dancing was tentative; they were learning to be around each other for the first time. Most of their contact had been on the football field. This was the first time the boys and girls were in a social atmosphere together. The lights in the gym had been turned down a little bit, but were still bright enough to eliminate any thoughts of intimacy. This was just as well, since they were only fourteen and fifteen year olds after all.   
  
Many parents had come up to them to compliment Justin on how great the programs had turned out and to talk about Gus and how well the team did today against Browne. No one knew what happened at the house last night, and Brian and Justin hoped that no one would find out. Kevin O’Riley would have enough to deal with in his life without having to tackle being a social pariah.  
  
They had decided to wait for Melanie to get home to discuss all the legal ramifications with her. They wanted her opinion before they made any decisions about pressing charges against Lisa.   
  
The talk between the O’Rileys and the three of them this morning had been emotional and strained. After Kevin started to cry, Joe’s tears followed shortly after, and soon all five of them were pretty shook up talking about Lisa’s actions. It had broken the tension though, and by the time the O’Rileys had left, a mutual understanding existed between the two families.   
  
They had almost decided that if Lisa were committed to a mental facility to get the help she so badly needed, they would most likely hold off on filing the more severe charges of attempted murder. However, they did tell them that it would all depend on what their lawyer advised, before any final decisions were arrived at. The trespassing and destruction of property charges would probably have to stick.   
  
The O’Rileys had to settle for that and tonight when Joe dropped Kevin off at the dance, he greeted Brian and Justin politely when he saw them. He also walked over to Gus and his group of friends to say “what’s up.”   
  
Brian watched the whole exchange, bracing himself for any repercussions from Gus’ friends, but they seemed to take their lead from Gus and when they saw that he greeted Kevin without any hostility, they all backed off.   
  
Brian was grateful and so proud that Gus was taking this so well. He could have just as easily turned on Kevin and made his life more miserable than it already was. Brian knew better than anyone else how horrible it was to live with the consequences of your parent’s actions and he hoped that somehow Kevin would be able to recover from this nightmare and move on. He also hoped that Gus’ first foray into the ugly world of human emotion and sickness would not affect the way he viewed the world or the people who lived in it.   
  
Somehow though he was confident that it wouldn’t. Gus was too well grounded and had so many years of love and support from all the adults in his life. It would be surprising if this were to change his opinion of people much. Undoubtedly, he would remember this week for the rest of his life, but he wouldn’t let it color his original impressions of the human race.   
  
Brian had told Gus this morning that there will always be sickness and hatred, that was a given. But he also told him, even though he hated to admit it, because he had not very often been the recipient of it, that there was more goodness in people than evil. Basically, people do want to do the best for each other. They just have to wade through the bullshit of life to do it. There was no need to cloud or influence any of Gus’ impressions because of his or Justin’s past experiences. Gus’ life right now was pretty much a clean slate and only he should be able to do the writing.   
  
Justin watched as Gus danced with Ashley. They were so sweet and tentative around each other, it was refreshing to see. Justin’s teenage years had been spent in such a different world. Trust and innocence were never part of the equation. His life had been one of hidden emotions; standing up to the whole world, defending his decisions and living in fear that he had not made the right choices. He was glad that Gus would never have to deal with that. That he was comfortable with who he was and sure of his place in the world.   
  
Justin supposed that Gus’ sexuality had a large part to do with it. It was not easy to be Gay and view yourself as ‘different’. Granted, times had changed so much and societies views of homosexuals had done a hundred eighty degree turn around, however, the bottom line was and still is that they were not the ‘norm’ and that anyone who happened to be born this way had an uphill battle to contend with. Brian and Justin would have loved and accepted Gus no matter which way he had turned out, but the fact that he was straight would just make his life a little easier to live, which is all one could hope for.   
  
Justin was pleased that Gus had asked Brian about kissing, because Brian was definitely the Master; there was no one who kissed better than Brian Kinney. No one. More than that though, he was happy that he and Brian had been here, at this time, for this ‘first’. That they could actually participate in a first event for their son since they had missed out on so many of them in the past.   
  
Brian came up to him and put his arm around his shoulder as they stood watching the couples on the dance floor.  
  
“Well, this is one dance that’s going to have a happy ending, don’t you think, Sunshine?”  
  
Justin looked at him with his famous smile and said, “It does look that way, doesn’t it? I hope that Gus is having a good time.”  
  
They both watched as Gus walked out one of the side doors with Ashley in hand.  
  
Brian grinned at Justin and said, “Oh, yeah, I think Gus is going to have a real good time tonight. Kissing 101 is about to commence.”  
  
TBC


	16. Chapter 16

  
Author's notes: A million thanks to my fabulous beta, Shellie, who is not only the world's best beta, but also a very special friend!  


* * *

**Chapter 16, Hell Week**

****

 

****It was early Sunday morning.

They had left the dance around midnight and all three of them had been too tired to say much in the car on the way home. Gus sat in the back seat and stared dreamily out the window.

Brian kept looking at him in the rear view mirror but didn’t say a word. He knew Gus would tell him when he was ready.

When they got home Gus kissed them both good night, grabbed the house phone and made his way upstairs to his bedroom. Brian and Justin sat around and watched TV for a little bit then decided to call it a night.

Five hours later Brian was wide awake again because his damn internal clock thought it was a work day. He turned over to look at Justin who was still fast asleep. He was on his back with his arms spread eagle, hogging the bed as usual. The duvet had slipped down below his waist revealing his naked chest and part of his stomach with its sparse layer of soft blond hair. Brian couldn’t help but stare; Justin’s beauty always did that to him. Even after being together for so many years.

Brian tried very hard to lie still and not wake him, but his hands seemed to have a will of their own and he slowly reached over to caress Justin’s chest, remembering when the love-struck teenager had put that silly nipple ring on to impress him. The ring had long since gone, but Brian remembered.

Justin’s breathing instantly changed as soon as Brian’s hand started roaming.

Brian slid closer and pressed his face to Justin’s ear. “If I promise to be quiet, can I enter your beautiful tight ass and fuck the shit out of you?”

“Ever the romantic,” Justin answered sleepily, still with his eyes closed. He turned over slowly, causing the duvet to slip down even farther, revealing parts of his body that always made Brian’s breathing hitch. The gorgeous ass that he was lusting after was now naked and exposed, ready to be taken.

Justin felt Brian’s hands caressing and kneading. He let him massage and stroke, enjoying all the sensations in his dreamy state. He could feel his body responding automatically, the moans and whimpers coming out of his throat without warning. He felt his erection pressing into the mattress underneath him, even as he willed himself to lie still and enjoy this for as long as possible. He tried to move his hand down towards his dick to stroke himself but Brian stopped him, holding on to him tightly, enveloping him in his arms like a blanket. Brian trailed wet kisses around Justin’s shoulder blades while his hands continued to stroke and caress up and down his arms. He moved his lips up to Justin’s neck, blowing gently near his ear as he slowly made his way around finding Justin’s beautiful pink mouth as it opened eagerly, wanting to taste and explore. Justin felt Brian’s tongue delving into all corners, probing and invading. Brian’s kisses always made him dizzy with desire; they were enough to keep him in a state of permanent arousal. Sometimes he enjoyed the kissing more than anything else; the intimacy of having his lover’s mouth possessing him was a huge turn on for him and very often, more than enough for Justin.

Brian lapped at Justin’s lips, marking him with saliva, biting and nibbling, enjoying it as if it were his last supper. Justin’s breathing became more erratic, his body reacting to Brian’s ministrations. His erection was straining against him, begging to be touched and stroked, yet Brian continued to hold him in his vice, keeping Justin’s hands far away.

Justin was aware of everything, caught somewhere in between an intense erotic dream and wakefulness. He vaguely heard the sound of the lube cap being snapped open. He heard the liquid squirt into Brian’s hand as he held it for a minute, warming the gel. Finally, Brian’s hand started to move again, closer and closer to Justin’s hole, all the while his mouth continued to wreak havoc on Justin’s neck and back. Justin was squirming, rutting the mattress, wanting to touch himself so badly. Brian smeared the lube around Justin’s hole, then slowly inserted a finger, than two, to get him ready. Justin was more than ready, lifting up on all fours, begging to be fucked. Brian knelt in between Justin’s legs, pulling his ass up towards him, positioning him, getting ready to enter.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Justin asked, not hearing the familiar ripping of foil.

“I don’t think so, Sunshine,” Brian answered so quietly that Justin could barely hear him.

Opening his eyes in shock, Justin went rigid. “Oh-my-God!”

Brian stopped moving when he heard Justin exclaim. He had not meant to do this today. He had not meant to do this, ever.

Justin had asked him for years to forego the condoms and do it raw, but he had never given in. He seemed to have this horrible mental block about it; a fear that he would infect Justin, even thought he knew that he had been monogamous. Neither one of them had looked at anyone else, much less touched another since they had put their wedding rings on so many years ago.

But, in light of recent events, and the fact that they could have all been dead today, he felt that now was the right time.

He knew how important this was to Justin. He always thought that if he ever gave in to him, it would be with much fanfare, with some sort of condom shedding ceremony, as he had jokingly referred to the other day. Somehow though, the thought of doing anything like that was completely abhorrent to him. To have sex raw was more than experiencing a new sensation. It was the ultimate gift of trust that they could give each other. He didn’t want to sully it with any kind of meaningless ritual or to mock it in any way.

Justin continued to hold himself in, tightening against Brian, not daring to move.

“Brian, are you sure about this?” he asked, with his forehead pressed into the pillow.

“I’ve never been surer of anything, Sunshine.”

“Then let me turn over, please. I want to look into your face while we’re doing this, okay?”

Brian moved off Justin and waited for him to get ready. Justin turned and lay on his back, staring at Brian. He had gone from half asleep to intensely awake in zero seconds. He knew that Brian was waiting to see if he was going to stop this. Justin was clearly in shock, not prepared for anything that was about to happen.

Brian pressed his lips to Justin’s, moaning into his mouth, saying, ‘I love you’, never meaning it more than he did at that moment.

Justin’s mind was reeling. He never expected this day to ever happen. For years he had begged Brian to get rid of the condoms, never understanding the fear or the doubts. Justin knew that he was committed to their union, knew that there had never been anyone else for him since he was seventeen years old. He had stopped tricking as soon as he left New York City and had never looked back.

They each had blood drawn every six months to confirm they were healthy, even though it was a moot point as neither one of them had slept with another man for years. Still, they continued with the routine, to satisfy Brian and reassure him that all was well.

But this week had been another turning point for them. Lisa’s actions and their subsequent reactions had only reinforced to them how tentative life was. How everything could change in a minute. How one twist of fate could mean the difference between life and death.

There would be no more waiting for ‘a better time’. The time to show the ultimate commitment was now, and Justin understood that this is what Brian was trying to tell him.

They had had sex in a million different places, in a million different ways. There was nothing they had not done before. But today was different. Justin felt like he was seventeen again. The same feelings that he had experienced that night, when he had been taken into Brian’s bed for the first time, were rushing at him once again; the excitement, intertwined with the fear of the unknown. He looked at Brian’s face as it hovered above him, seeing him as if it were the first time. The face of God. Justin remembered the thoughts that were going through his mind all those years ago, the first time he lay beneath Brian. He remembered wondering if he was doing the right thing, if Brian would be gentle. He had been the most beautiful man Justin had ever seen then. Fourteen years later, he still was.

Brian watched Justin’s face as the conflicting emotions played out. He never tired of looking at him, of seeing those blue eyes turn two shades darker as the passion took over. Justin’s lips were red and moist, already starting to swell from the assault of Brian’s mouth and tongue. Brian looked at him and softly said, “Ready?” Justin barely nodded as he felt Brian lift his left leg and place it gently on his shoulder, following that with his right leg. He had him in the exact same position that he was in fourteen years ago, trusting and vulnerable. The excitement of the unknown was a feeling long forgotten by both of them, but suddenly it was here, resurrected.

For Brian there was no need to wonder any longer as he slid into Justin, reveling in a new sensation that was almost too intense to bear. The freedom of having no barriers to mask any of the feelings was unbelievable! It didn’t seem possible that sex with Justin could get any better, but it had. As he felt him tighten around his shaft the pleasure was so powerful it made him cry out.

“Jesus,” Brian moaned as he threw his head back, lost in the incredible softness that surrounded him.

“Brian,” was all Justin could manage to say. He was drowning in the sensations. It was too much; it was everything he had dreamed of yet unlike anything he had ever imagined. He held his breath as Brian moved back and forth, bringing them both closer.

“Breathe, Sunshine,” Brian said to him as they moved in unison.

“I love you, Brian,” Justin whispered, as his tears flowed, unbidden.

“You…are…my…life!” Brian moaned, unable to stretch this out any longer. The pleasure was too all-consuming, a force too powerful to stop as he reached the end and began to rush unheeded into Justin.

Justin felt Brian pulsing into him for the first time, the feeling unfamiliar, wonderful and new. He came almost simultaneously, spilling himself all over Brian’s chest.

“Brian,” Justin whispered as he lay there, spent, taking in great gulps of air, trying to get his sanity back.

“For better or worse, Sunshine?” Brian said, panting, destroyed.

Justin lay beneath a half-dead Brian, still feeling him inside him, still connected in the most intimate way. He pulled Brian’s left hand up to his face and looked at the wedding ring that he had worn for many years now. He gently twisted the ring off Brian’s finger and inspected it closely, admiring the beauty of the design with the two diamond hearts intertwined in the band of gold. He kissed Brian’s hand and slid the ring back on his finger.

“Till death, Brian,” Justin whispered emotionally.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mel and Lindsay’s plane touched down at six that evening. Brian, Justin and Gus stood in the arrival area, waiting for them to come out with their baggage.

Soon the sliding doors moved open and Jenny came out, clutching a Barbie in one hand and a pink backpack in the other. Mel and Lindsay followed closely behind.

“Gussie!” Jenny yelled as she spied her brother and ran up to him. She jumped up into his arms and he caught her, twirling her around and laughing at their familiar ritual.

“How are you, you little brat? I missed you.”

“Really?” Jenny replied, looking up at her brother adoringly.

Gus moved over to Lindsay, kissing her on the cheek. He then walked over to Mel and did the same thing.

“Hi, sweetheart,” Lindsay said. “Are you feeling okay?”

“I’m fine, Mom, never better,” Gus said looking his mother straight in the eye.

Lindsay stared at her son. He was different somehow. He looked the same physically, but something had changed and she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

In the car on the way home they went over the events of the last few days, leaving out all the parts that involved Lisa and the incident at home. Jenny Rebecca didn’t need to hear any of it and so they decided to shelve that conversation for later.

“Are you guys’ hungry?” Justin asked.

“We ate on the plane, for whatever that’s worth.” Melanie replied.

“I’m still hungry, Mama,” Jenny said to Mel.

“Sure you are Hon, you’re a bottomless pit. I swear, for someone as tiny as you are, you sure can pack away the food!”

Lindsay laughed and looked at her daughter lovingly. “She’s a growing girl Mel, soon she’s going to be eleven. Before you know it we’ll have a young lady on our hands.”

“And I want to be a cheerleader when I grow up,” Jenny announced to everyone.

“Jesus Christ,” Brian moaned from the front seat.

“That’s cool, Jen,” Gus said. “Maybe by the time I’m a senior you’ll be able to be one of the team members. That would be awesome!”

“Whoa! Hold on a minute,” Melanie said, raising her hand in a stop signal.

“It’ll be fine, Mel,” Lindsay said, taking hold of Melanie’s hand. “We’re looking at three or four years down the road. Let’s not get too excited yet, okay?”

They pulled into the driveway and everyone got out of the car. Gus and Justin grabbed the suitcases while Brian, Melanie and Lindsay walked around the property, checking out the area near the garage.  
Jenny had dashed into the house ahead of Gus and Justin.

“Other than the black marks on that one section of the garage there doesn’t seem to be that much damage,” Brian said to them as they proceeded with the inspection.

“You guys were incredibly lucky,” Melanie said. “I hope that bitch fries in Hell.”

“I think she already has,” Brian said without cracking a smile.

“We’ll have to make a decision about any charges that we file. I told them I would have to discuss this with you and Lindsay before we do anything,” Brian said.

“Damn straight,” Melanie said.

“Brian,” Lindsay asked. What is going to happen to her?”

“From what I understand, they’re going to transfer her to the state mental facility as soon as her wounds heal. That may take months though, because she suffered first degree burns over most of her lower body.”

“God, that sounds horrible!” Lindsay said.

“It was horrible,” Brian said quietly.

“Well, I for one think she’s been punished enough,” Lindsay said. “If they put her away in an institution, I’m willing to forego the attempted murder charge.”

“Well, I’m not!” Melanie said. “This could have been so much worse, Lindsay, we need to make sure she is punished and put away.”

“Let’s go in the house and talk about it some more,” Brian said. “We don’t need to decide anything right this minute.”

“But we do need to come to a decision before you and Justin leave,” Melanie said.

“What time is your flight, Brian?” Lindsay asked.

“Not until nine-thirty tomorrow. And I’ve already made arrangements for a Limo to come pick us up at seven. That way you ladies can stay in bed, doing your nasty Lezzi things to each other.”

“Brian!” Mel and Lindsay exclaimed in unison.

“Just kidding!” Brian said, laughing and trying to get everyone out of this dark mood they were in.

In the house, Justin, Gus and Jenny were in the kitchen preparing a light dinner of soup and sandwiches for everyone. The atmosphere in the kitchen was easygoing and carefree; the exact opposite of the gloominess that Brian, Lindsay and Melanie had come in from.

Brian moved over to Justin and kissed him on the mouth. He lingered a minute longer than he normally would have, running his thumb across Justin’s cheek and moving up to his ear whispering, “I love you”.

“Christ, you two! Don’t you ever get enough of each other?” Melanie asked.

“Never,” Justin said, looking at Brian and smiling.

“You know,” Lindsay said, “For a couple that’s been together as long as you have, you sure are acting like newlyweds.”

Brian and Justin looked at each other and smiled knowingly.

“We are,” Justin replied.

“Huh?” Melanie asked.

“Never mind,” Brian answered.

The six of them sat down for dinner and proceeded to demolish the soup and sandwiches that had been prepared. Conversation was lighthearted and fun. They discussed Nancy Peterson’s recovery and moved on to Jenny’s long visit with Michael and the Professor. Little Jenny regaled them with stories of her adventures with Grandma Debbie and Hunter’s kids. Her little motor mouth kept on going as she looked and sounded alarmingly like her father and grandmother. Brian watched her and couldn’t help being reminded of Michael.

“So, Gus,” Melanie asked. “How was your first dance? Did you have a good time?”

Gus looked at his mothers and slowly started changing color.

“Yeah, Gus,” Brian said with a big shit-eating grin on his face, “How was your first dance?”

“Dad!” Gus said looking at Brian imploringly.

“It was fun, Mama, I had a really good time,” Gus replied, dead pan.

“Great!” Melanie said.

“Did you dance?” Lindsay asked.

“Sort of,” Gus answered.

“Really. Who with?” Lindsay asked again.

“Oh, this girl named Ashley,” Gus said, turning a brighter shade of pink.

“Do I know her?” Linds asked.

“No. We just met, Mom. She’s a cheerleader.”

“Oh.”

“Well, what did you and Brian do at the dance, Justin? Did you guys have to prepare the food or basically just stand around and watch the kids?” Lindsay asked.

“It was a lot of standing around and watching,” Justin said.

“Did they have a full dinner, or was it just appetizers and deserts?” Lindsay asked again, trying to get more details from the men who seemed to be having issues communicating.

“Yeah, Gus,” Brian asked looking directly at his son. “What was on the menu that night?”

Gus looked at his father, gave up and laughed. “Smores, Dad. Lot’s and lot’s of Smores.”

Brian looked at Gus and gave him a huge smile. “Excellent,” he said.

Lindsay and Melanie looked at each other, completely confused by the conversation.

Lindsay looked from Gus to Brian, than back to Gus again. She realized that what she was seeing was the new thing in Gus that she noticed earlier at the airport and couldn’t quite pinpoint.

There was a quiet confidence about him, a maturity that hadn’t been there last week. The look in his eyes had changed too. The innocence seemed to have shifted a little, there was a new awareness about him, an edginess, reminiscent of the look that Brian had. It wasn’t quite as hard, but his look had definitely changed.

Whatever had happened this week had brought that about, she thought to herself. This was one week in her son’s life that she and Mel had missed out on. However, it was a week that seemed to have brought Brian, Justin and Gus a lot closer, despite the one tragedy that had occurred.

They stood up from the kitchen table and each one of them moved off to finish whatever they needed to before going to bed. Justin helped Jenny and Melanie put the kitchen back in order. Gus went upstairs, with the house phone, as usual. Brian and Lindsay went off to the family room to sit and watch the news for a while.

“Hey,” Brian said to Lindsay. “We’ll abide with whatever you and Mel decide. But I’m leaning towards dropping the whole murder rap and going with all the lesser charges. That’s how Justin feels too.”

“I know, Brian. I have to agree with you on this one, even though I wanted to kill her myself when you called yesterday morning.”

“Well, let me know. We’ll be back again in the next couple months, at least four times to watch Gus’ home games, so I’ll be around.”

“Okay,” Lindsay said.

She looked at him and said, “Thank you for doing this Brian. For being here for our son this week.”

Brian looked at her and said, “Linds, I wouldn’t have missed this for the world. Thank you for letting us come and trusting us with him.” He stood up and went over to hug her.

“I’m going upstairs to say goodbye to Gus. He’ll be asleep when we leave tomorrow.”

“Okay,” she said.

On his way upstairs he passed Justin who was just leaving Gus’ room.

“Great minds…”

“I know,” Justin replied. “I wanted to get the goodbye out of the way so I can start packing. He’s all yours.”

Entering the room he saw that Gus had the TV on and was lying in bed watching.

“Hey, Sonny Boy. I just came to say good-bye. We’re leaving early and I didn’t want to disturb your beauty sleep tomorrow.”

Gus looked up and smiled at his Dad.

“Dad, come and sit for a minute.”

_Now what?_

“I just wanted to say thanks,” Gus said, as Brian sat at the foot of the bed. “For being here this week and helping me get through this.”

“Gus, you did most of this on your own.”

“Maybe. But I know that having you and ‘Daddy J’ here made it a lot easier. And, Dad?” Gus said, as he grabbed his father’s hand.

“What, Gus?”

“Thanks again. For the whole ‘Smores’ thing.” He looked at Brian with a very, very familiar lip biting grin. “It was amazing!”

Brian ruffled Gus’ hair and laughed out loud.

“Amazing, huh?”

“Incredible, Dad.”

Brian stood up to go.

“One last thing, Gus. Even though this thing with Kevin is over, you should watch your back. It’s always best to be careful and never let your guard down.”

“Remember what I’ve always said, there are only two kinds of straight people…oh, wait,” Brian stopped, looking at Gus, “I guess in your case, this doesn’t really apply.”

“It doesn’t in yours either Dad, not anymore,” Gus said, looking up at his father.

“How’s that?” Brian asked, puzzled.

Gus looked at him. “There’s a third kind of straight person in your life now, Dad…the kind that loves you, to your face.”

Brian’s heart lurched when he heard this. He felt the tears gathering at the back of his eyes and he stared at Gus for the longest time.

For the first time in his life Brian had no smart rebuttal, no sarcastic come back; no way of denying or hiding the fact that Gus was right. Love was radiating out of the beautiful, straight, hazel eyes that looked at him.

Brian reached over and pulled Gus up off the bed and into his arms. He held him quietly, willing away the tears that were threatening to overflow.

The End.

 

Authors Note: Anger is an emotional state that varies from mild irritation to intense fury and rage. Anger can be caused by both internal and external events. You could be mad at your boss, or your anger could be caused by worrying about personal or financial problems or you may have recurring memories from past traumatic events that cause angry feelings. The instinctive, natural way to express anger is to respond aggressively. Anger is a natural, adaptive response to threats and a certain amount of anger is necessary for our survival. On the other hand we can’t physically lash out at everything or everyone that irritates or annoys us. The laws of the land and society forbid this.

Most anger problems stem from the inability to express feelings in an assertive manner. To do this one has to make clear what their needs are and how to get them met without hurting anyone; being assertive doesn’t mean being pushy or demanding. It means being respectful of yourself and others. The key word being respect.

Unexpressed anger can lead to pathological expressions of anger, such as passive-aggressive behavior. Being angry at people indirectly, without telling them why, rather than confronting them head-on. Or a personality that seems perpetually cynical and is constantly putting others down, criticizing everything and making cynical comments, not having learned how to express themselves constructively. Not surprisingly these people aren’t likely to have very successful relationships.

Anger management is unfortunately, a very real and very common problem, seen very often in women for a variety of reasons. The worst case scenarios can lead to women murdering their children for no apparent reason. In milder forms, women take their anger out on themselves, being depressed, having eating disorders, becoming reclusive or the opposite; turning promiscuous and leading double lives. Lisa O’Riley is a fictitious character based on a lovely woman I knew years ago, when I was very involved in youth sports. Although Lisa’s actions were extreme and had nothing to do with my friend, her anger issues were similar.

I wanted to address this to anyone out there who has a friend, a co-worker or a loved one with this problem, who is afraid to get help or who doesn’t even realize they need it. There are organizations and support groups that are readily available with many ways of helping deal with anger management issues. Contacting the American Psychological Association or any medical facility or mental health physician will lead you to the right people and start you on your journey to healing.  



End file.
